


Descendants: Dyad Reborn

by TheCamdog9



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies), Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ben Solo Reborn, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Crossover, F/M, Happy Ending, Post-Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Prince Ben Solo, Redeemed Ben Solo, Reincarnation, Rey Reborn, Reylo - Freeform, Slight Canon Divergence, The Dyad Lives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:08:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 36
Words: 197,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26930407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCamdog9/pseuds/TheCamdog9
Summary: Ben Solo learns that he and Rey are to be reborn millennia later on a new world. Ben is to be reborn as Prince Ben of Auradon. He learns that Rey will be reborn as Mal of the Isle. With the Enchantress as his guide and Force spirits from his past to help him along the way, Ben is determined to reunite with Rey and bring balance to the magic of this new world with the Force on his side.
Relationships: Ben/Mal (Disney: Descendants), Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 52
Kudos: 42
Collections: Identity Crisis





	1. Ben Solo's Second Chance

**Author's Note:**

> Greetings! As you saw in the tags, I am cross-posting this story on Fanfiction.net, just so you all are aware.
> 
> This is a story idea I have had for a while where the worlds of Descendants and Star Wars mix together. Plus I haven't seen or read a lot of Ben Solo/Rey reincarnation stories so I thought I'd give it a try. I did want these two to have a happy ending. This idea may work, it may not, we'll see. 
> 
> I do not own anything from either one of these franchises, both belong to Disney.
> 
> Enjoy! Comment/review!

Darkness. That was what Ben Solo, formerly known as Kylo Ren, was greeted with. The last thing he remembered was bringing Rey back from the dead after she defeated Palpatine, being kissed by her, then falling down feeling the last of his life energy leaving his body. The last thing he saw was the sad look on Rey’s face. She didn’t want him to leave her. They were a dyad, two that were one. He felt their bond breaking into millions of pieces. Now he was here in this dark place wondering around looking for something, anything that could tell him where he was. Yes, he knew that he was dead, but where did his soul end up? He didn’t know and he had no idea how long he had been there.

“Hello?” Ben called out. “Where am I? Please! I need to know. I need to know where I am and if Rey is alright.” No one answered. He sighed and looked down at himself. He was still wearing the black undershirt, black pants, and black boots that he wore when he died on Exegol. The last bit of clothes still left from the garb he wore as Kylo Ren. He remembers throwing his lightsaber into the sea, then discarding his cloak and overshirt before he found that old TIE Fighter and flew all the way to Exegol to help out Rey. He didn’t live long as Ben Solo again, but it was worth it. All of Rey.

Rey. His other half. Oh the things he did to her as Kylo Ren. Capturing her from the forest of Takodana, strapping her on that table and interrogating her, finding out how strong with the Force she was, fighting her in that snowy forest and receiving the wound across the right side of his face and chest. He was awful to her when they first met. Then all of a sudden, their Force Bond was born. He remembers every connection they had through the Force, the way the air stilled and they could see each other, no matter where they were in the galaxy, and each time only lasted for a few minutes. But those were precious to him looking back. Slowly they learned more about each other, and then just through a small touch of their fingers, they could see visions of each others’ pasts and possible futures. When Rey came to him alone on the Supremacy, she looked angelic. The way she pleaded with him to turn back to the light. Oh how he wished he listened to her back then. How he wished he had cut Snoke down sooner. Or rather Palpatine’s puppet as he learned later. That monster who was in his head even before he was born. That voice he heard all of his life, tormenting him, turning him to the Dark Side. He was finally free. 

He should have found balance sooner. He should have known that it was OK to have both Light and Dark in him. Rey was his balance. His equal. But he had to go and choose to stay as Kylo Ren, asking her to join him, ignoring the pleading look in her eyes begging him not to go that way. They continued their fight for a year after that, ending on the remains of the second Death Star, where Rey “killed” Kylo once and for all thanks to his mother’s pleading voice stopping him from hurting Rey and bringing him out of the darkness. He looked down and saw the hole where Rey thrust his saber right through him before she healed him and said that she always wanted to take his hand, as Ben. Not as a Sith, not as a Jedi. Just Ben. And then he had that vision of his father…..

He knelt to the ground and started to sob. The one action that tore him up the most was killing his own father. Now he was kneeling here in this dark place crying having lost everything. His father, his mother, Rey. Ben put his hands on his face as he continued to sob, “I’m sorry,” over and over again. 

“Ben.” A voice cried out in the darkness. Ben looked up and saw a light coming toward him. He scrambled backwards as the light got closer and closer to him. The light slowly took shape and before Ben stood his mother, Leia Organa. She smiled down at Ben and said, “My boy. I am so proud of you.” Ben was lost for words as Leia knelt down and continued, “You came home after all of this time. My precious boy.” Ben started to sob more and whispered, “Mom,” as he hugged her kneeling form, surprised that he could hold her in his arms, but realized that since they were both dead that it could happen. Leia hugged him back and said, “Dry those tears, son. It’s OK.” “I’m sorry, Mom,” Ben whispered. “I’m sorry for everything I did. For attacking you. For dad…” 

“Lighten up there, kid.” Ben froze as he recognized the voice. He let go of his mother and turned around and saw his father, Han Solo, standing there smirking. “You will wear yourself out if you keep that up.” Ben stood up slowly as he stared at his father, the man he put his lightsaber through. More tears welled into his eyes and he whispered, “Dad,” and he hugged his dad tight and started to sob uncontrollably. Han was shocked because Ben was never a hugger in his life but understood that Ben needed it and hugged him back saying, “It’s OK, son. I forgive you.” Ben pulled back and said, “Really? After all that I’ve done. I killed you, Dad!” “And you were haunted by that act ever since,” Han replied. “I knew the risks that day. I had a feeling I wasn’t going to walk away alive from that. But I was able to bring you home. As your mother wanted. It just took a little while after that.” Ben stared at his dad and said, “I’m sorry. For everything.” “I know,” Han replied with a smile. “You did good in the end.” 

Ben weakly smiled and looked around saying, “So where are we?” “The World Between Worlds,” a voice replied behind the trio. Ben stilled, knowing the voice all too well. He turned around and saw his uncle, Luke Skywalker, standing there. Ben glared at the man who tried to kill him in his sleep and the man who he faced down on Crait. Leia could tell what her son was thinking and said, “Ben. It’s OK. He’s not here to hurt you. Believe me, he already got plenty from Han and I.” Ben looked at his mother with confusion as Han said, “Calm down kid. Leia and I found out about what really happened that night at the temple. Luke already got enough punishment for that.” Luke looked down ashamed as Ben shouted, “You wanted to kill me!” and Han held onto Ben’s shoulders to calm him down. Luke sighed and looked up saying, “Ben. No amount of words can say how sorry I am for that. I gave in to my darkness after I saw how much Snoke….or rather Palpatine, had done with your mind. I feel that that was what Palpatine wanted me to do in order to have you completely in his control. I should have helped you find balance. I focused too much on the teachings of the old Jedi to realize that. I hope one day you can forgive me.” Ben took a few deep breaths to calm himself, then said, “I hope so too, Uncle.” Luke gave Ben a soft smile in return.

“So you said this is the World Between Worlds?” Ben asked. Luke nodded as Chewie suddenly appeared roaring loudly. Ben was startled and said, “Wait. How can Chewbacca be here? I thought he was still with the Resistance?” “He was,” Han answered. “But you have been here longer than you think.” “How long?” Ben asked. “Centuries,” Leia said. “Millenia even.” Ben’s eyes went wide as Chewie walked forward making Ben gulp, knowing that the Wookiee probably hated him for taking his best friend away. He was surprised when the Wookiee grabbed him into a big bear hug as Han laughed and said, “Sure Chewie was pissed about what you did, but he’s forgiven you after learning all that you have been through.” Ben smiled as Chewie let him go and said, “Thanks, Chewie. I’ll make it up to you.” Chewie roared with approval. Ben then asked, “If it’s really been so long since I died, then where is Rey?” 

The others looked at each other as Leia answered, “We watched over her after your sacrifice.” Suddenly Ben saw a vision before him of what Rey did after Exegol: her burying the Skywalker sabers on Tatooine, taking up the Skywalker name, flying through the galaxy as a free woman, training Force-sensitive people here and there, including the former stormtrooper Finn. But then he saw the pain and anguish in her eyes, like a part of her was missing. “She did a lot of amazing things after the battle of Exegol,” Luke said. “But her spirit was never the same. Having a dyad split in two did more than anyone thought would happen. After a few years, Rey found herself getting weaker and weaker with no explanation. We think it was because her spirit needed to reunite with you. Her other half. You two were born to bring balance back to the Force, but things happened unfortunately. About ten years after you died was when her life suddenly ended.” The vision showed her on Ahch-To sitting on the same rock that Luke died on as she closed her eyes and pleaded, “Please. I wish to be with him again in a new life. Away from all of this. I want a chance to be with him and live a life with him. I want to be happy again.” Then she disappeared from the rock signifying that she had died and her spirit went into the Force. The vision ended as Ben asked, “Well then, why isn’t she here?” “We think it has something to do with her wish,” Leia answered. “When she died, her soul went to the place where the two of you will be reborn. We are the ones to take you there.” “Is Rey waiting for me there?” Ben asked. 

“Not exactly,” Ben turned and saw four figures approaching the group. The first, an old man wearing robes similar to Luke said, “Because your spirit was trapped here, you couldn’t go with her right away and we were sent to bring you out of this darkness that you have spent long enough in. And before you ask, I am Obi-Wan Kenobi, or Ben Kenobi as your parents knew me as.” Ben’s eyes widened as Leia answered, “Yes, Ben. We named you after him.” Ben looked back at old Ben and asked, “Why was I here for so long?” “The Force wanted to give you time to repent, we think,” the little green alien answered who was standing next to Obi-Wan. Ben immediately knew this was Yoda. But then he looked at the two standing next to them. A young man was wavy brown hair in a similar style to his wearing Jedi robes and a young woman with long curly brown hair smiling at him. The young man stepped forward and said, “I finally get to meet you in person, so to speak. Grandson.” Ben’s eyes widened realizing that this was Anakin Skywalker standing in front of him. Ben stomped forward and grabbed Anakin’s collar and shouted, “Why did you never answer me? When I called out to you?” The young woman put her hand on Ben’s and said, “Ben, your grandfather tried to reach out to you but Palpatine was blocking him. Anakin never wanted you to repeat his mistakes.” Ben looked at the small woman and realized, “Grandmother Padme?” Padme nodded as Anakin said, “We both have been watching you for your whole life but we could never talk to you as we wanted. But now we are here to make up for that. In your next life.” Ben looked around at the spirits surrounding him as Yoda said, “The choice is yours, be reborn with your other half, or stay here.” Ben gave a look of determination and said, “I want to be with Rey. Always.” Leia smiled and said, “Wise choice. We will always be with you, my son. We will give you the guidance you needed. We will help you get to this new world where Rey was sent and there will be someone there to help you with the next step. Are you ready?” Ben nodded as the eight spirits turned into balls of light and floated to Ben, right into his body. Suddenly his body started to glow brightly as Ben closed his eyes and disappeared from the World Between Worlds.

When Ben opened his eyes again, suddenly he was in a green forest. He looked around and shouted, “Hello? Is anyone there?” “No one can hear you, young Skywalker.” Ben turned around and saw a woman wearing a dark cloak walking toward him. Ben took a few steps backwards and asked, “Who are you? And why would you say that?” The woman pulled her hood down and revealed herself as a young pretty woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. She smiled and said, “I am known as the Enchantress, but you can call me Agathe. And to answer your other question, no one can hear you because you are just a spirit right now.” “Then how can you see and hear me?” Ben asked. Agathe smiled and said, “Because I am a sorceress. I wield magic that many in this world don’t have. Almost to the same degree as you.” Ben cocked his head in confusion and asked, “What do you mean? What world is this?” Agathe answered, “This is the land of Auradon, on the planet Earth, many many years after your life ended. What you know as the Force started to disappear from the universe so to speak. Less and less Force-sensitive people were born and eventually, no one had its power anymore. It started after the last dyad were gone and the Force pulled away and just observed the universe. Overtime, different worlds started to develop their own power and evolve differently, but never to the same extent as your people did. Here we developed magic of all kinds, both light and dark. Here, let me share my knowledge of magic with you.” She placed her hand on Ben’s head and suddenly he was bombarded with extensive knowledge of the magic of this planet. 

Agathe removed her hand from Ben and he stumbled back a bit and said, “Wow. That’s a lot of information for me to handle.” Agathe smiled and said, “Now you will understand how this world works. But you also must realize that you are now the most powerful being of this world. The Force is stronger than any of the magic that exists here. Only a few would even come close to challenging your powers. Like myself perhaps.” Ben stood there absorbing everything he just learned. He was amazed at the different types of magic that existed there. 

But then he remembered, “Wait. I came here because Rey was sent here by the Force as well. Where is she?” Agathe’s smile dropped as she walked away saying, “Follow me and your question will be answered.” Ben followed her out of the forest into a clearing where Agathe pointed to a small island out in the sea that had a magical force field surrounding it. “That,” Agathe said. “Is the Isle of the Lost. A few years ago, the many different kingdoms on this planet joined together as one giant region calling themselves thee United States of Auradon. They chose one of the kings, King Adam and his wife Queen Belle, as the rulers of this new kingdom. On his wedding day, King Adam proclaimed that all of the villains, from as small as a petty criminal to the most evil to be collected and banished to that island. Then the Fairy Godmother, one of the most powerful fairies here, used her magic wand to create that magical force field so that no one could escape. King Adam went as far as to make the God of Death, Hades, bring back villains from the dead just so they could be imprisoned there. A fate worse than death if you ask me. And here I thought that the king learned his lesson.” “What lesson?” Ben asked. 

“Many years ago,” Agathe recalled. “When he was a young arrogant prince, I saw that he had no love in his heart. So I disguised myself as a old beggar woman and knocked on his castle door, asking for room for the night and gave him a red rose as payment. He sneered at my gift and my appearance and told me to leave. I told him that looks could be deceiving and asked again for room for the night. When he turned me away again, I showed me true self to him, showing my beauty and power. He tried to apologize, but it was too late. I saw the lack of love he had in his heart so I punished him by turning him into a beast. And on top of that, I enchanted the other people of the castle to become objects overtime and made the surrounding area forget everyone there. I gave him the rose as a reminder and to show how much time he had left to break the curse. He needed to fall in love with someone and have that person fall in love with him in return or else he would be a beast forever and the people of the castle will become inanimate objects. Eventually he fell in love with a village girl, Belle, and broke the curse. But then all of this happened. He banished the villains, alive and formerly dead, and he made everyone give up magic. He tried to make me give up my magic as well but I refused. I warned him that no good would come of this and I gave him a warning that there would be consequences for his actions.” 

“But what does all of that have to do with where Rey is?” Ben asked. Agathe pointed to the Isle again and said, “Rey will be reborn on the Isle of the Lost. As the daughter of Maleficent, the dark fairy, and Hades, the God of Death.” “What?” Ben shouted. “Why is she being reborn there?” “Because of balance,” Agathe said. “She will be the light in that dark place. Sure the darkness will influence her in some ways, but she will have light to balance that out. Like you do. But she will not remember anything of her previous life. Not yet at least.” “What do you mean?” Ben asked. Agathe held out her hand and a ball of light appeared next to her that took the shape of Rey. Ben walked towards it and tried to touch her, but his hand passed right through her. Agathe said, “This form you see before you are her memories. When her spirit entered this world, she gave me her memories to guard them and her pure soul went to where the child vessel is waiting. One day her memories will be returned to her.” “How long will that take?” Ben asked. “When she is ready. And when the Force deems it necessary. Unfortunately she will be trapped on that Isle until the end of her days unless someone will let her out. That is where you will come in. Come with me.” Agathe walked away and Ben followed her.

They stopped near a large castle and Agathe said, “This is the castle of King Adam and Queen Belle. They are lying asleep in their bed, dreaming and wishing to have a child of their own. They have tried for many years but no success so far. In the morning, they will find out that Belle is with child. But unless someone steps in to help, I foresee the future child will be stillborn.” “What?” Ben shouted. “How can that be?” Agathe sighed and said, “The magical nature of this world did not like the choices that King Adam has made concerning the Isle and disrupting nature by bringing back the dead to imprison them and for banning magic. This is the world’s way of punishing him, bringing his poor Queen down with him. The child is there already, but it does not have a soul, just a vessel. Because that child is you. All the child needs is your soul and you will make their wishes come true.” “But why me? And what does this have to do with Rey?” Ben asked. “Rey’s wish was heard by the Force,” Agathe answered. “And the Force, after millennia hiding away, decided to find a world that needed help the most, this one. It brought the last dyad here to be reborn, one on the side of good, and one on the side of evil. The two of you will bring this world back to its rightful glory and make things right again. I was chosen as your guide to this world. I can complete the magic by putting your soul into the vessel that awaits you in there. Just like Rey whose soul went into the child waiting to be born on the Isle.” “This will work?” Ben asked. “Yes,” Agathe said. “Like I said, the Force is greater than any magic here. When you and Rey are reborn, you both will have a natural immunity to magic of this world affecting you. Unless you deem it as what you would want. Rey will be born with other magic thanks to her parentage, but spells against her and you won’t work unless either of you want thee magic to work on the two of you or power greater than you casts it. Basically the Force will protect you both.” Ben thought for a moment and then asked, “What if I say no to this? What if I want to get Rey’s soul back now? What will happen?” Agathe frowned and said, “Then the king and queen will be childless. And the throne will pass on to those who will do worse things that will bring this world to ruin. Rey’s soul is already bound to her new vessel. Only someone like Hades can reverse it. So if you decide not to be reborn, Rey as her reborn self will never leave the Isle. She will live her life alone and die, her wish unfulfilled.”

Ben thought for a moment and he heard Rey’s voice whisper, “Please, Ben.” That made Ben nod his head and said, “I’ll do it. Tell me what I have to do.” Agathe smiled and said, “I will separate your memories from your soul, along with the spirits who brought you here. Then your soul will merge with the vessel that lies in the queen. You will live a few years peacefully, but then the Force will start awakening you by showing you visions through dreams. Then the Force will call you to me to give you your memories back and reunite you with the spirits. Then your mission starts. You will become King when you are older, you will bring Rey over to Auradon, and then take down the shield over the Isle and free those imprisoned on it.” “What about all the villains on the Isle? Don’t some of them belong imprisoned?” Ben asked. “That may be true,” Agathe answered. “But their children who committed no crime have to live there for actions their parents committed. That is not a fate they should suffer. Also, know this. Rey is tasked with not remembering for a long time while you will spend more of your new life remembering. That is the burden assigned to you. Do not force her memories onto her until she is ready. And when the Force deems it time. So, Skywalker, are you ready?” Ben took a deep breath and looked out and saw the Isle of the Lost in the distance. “One day, Rey,” Ben said. “One day we will be together again.” He turned to Agathe and said, “I’m ready.” Agathe smiled and said, “Good choice.” 

Agathe raised her hands and suddenly eight balls of light flew out of Ben and into Agathe. Ben knew that the Force spirits would be in good hands with Agathe. Then he felt his mind slipping into darkness as Agathe started to chant the spell to complete the magic the Force started. Slowly he felt every memory slip out of him and gather in front of Agathe. It started to take a form of its own, looking just like he did as Kylo Ren, mask and all. Before he could freak out at this, his world turned black.

Agathe looked at the two figures in front of her. One had the form of Kylo Ren as that was what his memories decided to take form as since some of his most important memories were of his time as Kylo Ren. Next to that was the unconscious form of Ben Solo, a pure soul waiting to be reborn. Agathe smiled and summoned Ben’s memories to her and the form of Kylo Ren shifted its form to that of a ball of light and went into Agathe’s body. Then she turned the form of Ben Solo’s soul into a ball of light and used her magic to force the soul to go where it was needed. Ben’s soul flew through the air and through the castle walls, right into the bedroom of the king and queen. It floated to the queen and went into her body, right where her womb was, and it merged with the child that was starting to grow. Agathe smiled knowing her work for now was done. As she was about to walk away, she heard Leia’s voice ask, “Ben. Will he have a happy childhood?” Agathe smiled and turned to see Leia’s spirit standing nest to her and said, “Yes. Like I said, for a few years, Ben will live peacefully with no memory of his past. But in a fews years time, the Force will call out to him and bring him to me, where you and everyone else will be reunited with him and his memories will be restored. Rest assured, Leia, he will have a better life.” “What about Rey?” Leia asked. Agathe sighed and said, “Her first 15 or so years of life will be hard since she will be growing up on the Isle of the Lost. But when Ben brings her over here, slowly the Force will reawaken her. And she and Ben will have their Happily Ever After. I can promise you that. Just believe in the Force.” Leia smiled and nodded then disappeared back into Agathe. The Enchantress looked at the castle once more and said, “Now it’s your turn, Skywalker.” 

Sure enough, the next morning, King Adam and Queen Belle found out that they were going to have a child. Queen Belle cried tears of joy knowing that her wish had been answered. King Adam was prideful that he was going to have an heir. They announced their joyous news to the kingdom of Auradon and everyone rejoiced.

Nine months later, on a hot summer day, Queen Belle gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. She held her new son in her arms as King Adam gave his wife a gentle kiss on her forehead. “He’s beautiful, Adam,” Belle said. “A son,” Adam said. “We have a son. This is the best day of our lives. What do you think we should name him?” Belle thought for a moment, then she seemed to hear a voice whisper in her ear, giving her an idea of a name. “How about Benjamin?” Belle said. Adam smiled and said, “Benjamin it is. Prince Benjamin Floran.” “Floran?” Belle said. Adam shrugged and said, “It sounds nice.” Belle giggled and looked down at her baby and said, “Benjamin. Ben. Welcome to the world, little one.” Ben opened his eyes that glowed gold for a spilt second, but Adam and Belle didn’t notice. 

The next day, over on the Isle of the Lost, Maleficent gave birth to a baby girl. “Finally!” Maleficent shouted. “That little demon is out of me!” Hades walked over looking at the bundle in his wife’s arms. “A girl. How lovely.” “Yes,” Maleficent said. “Hopefully she will be useful one day. Now get that creature out of my sight. I need my rest.” “Don’t you want to name her?” Hades asked. “Her name is Mal,” Maleficent answered. “If she becomes as good as me one day, then she’ll take my name. But for now, just Mal. Now get her out of my sight!” Hades grumbled and carried Mal away from his wife. Why he married that dark fairy he never really knew himself. He looked down at his newborn daughter and said, “Don’t listen to your mother little one. You can be whatever you want to be.” Mal opened her eyes that glowed gold for a quick second, and Hades noticed. He looked at his child curiously. “I wonder…” he thought as he closed his eyes and focused his energy on Mal. He may not have his god powers anymore thanks to being on the Isle, but he did still have a few tricks up his sleeve. He concentrated on seeing into his daughter’s soul and found the answer he was looking for. He opened his eyes and said, “A soul reborn. Even for me that is a rare sight. You must have be reborn for a reason.” He looked out the window and saw a light flash for a quick second from Auradon, the same light he saw in his daughter. Hades looked down and said, “I think you are destined for great things. You won’t be on this Isle forever. You will free us. I know of it. Now your mother may want to call you Mal, but that name doesn’t suit you. What should your name be?” He thought for a moment and then he heard a voice whisper in his ear. He looked down at his daughter and said, “I’ll call you Rey. My little sunshine. That will be our little secret.”


	2. Ben's New Life/Reawakening

True to Agathe’s word, Ben did have a few years of a peaceful childhood. He was born with honey brown hair and hazel green eyes. He was a cheerful baby who only cried when he was hungry, tired, or the other typical baby stuff. His new parents loved him dearly. Belle would always read stories to him before bedtime and sing sweet lullabies to him. Adam would take him around the castle grounds and play with him. But whenever there were times that Adam and Belle had to leave to perform kingdom duties, Ben was left in the care of Mrs. Potts and Maurice, Belle’s father. He would also spend time with others around the castle like Lumiere and Cogsworth although Mrs. Potts would have to drag Ben away when the two men started to fight with each other. Chip, Mrs. Potts’ son, was like a big brother to him always taking him on adventures in the forest surrounding the castle.

Ben grew into a adventurous toddler always keeping his parents and guardians on their toes. He became very bright for his age as he learned things very quickly like reading, writing, and so much more. Belle smiled and said, “He seems to take after me.” Adam chuckled and said, “But he also has great athletic skills, like me.” The king gave a small wooden sword to Ben on his fourth birthday and Ben took to sword fighting quickly, much to the amazement of his parents.

Adam and Belle took him all around the kingdom that would one day be his and Ben was amazed at all of the sights he saw. On one such day traveling through the kingdom, he saw the Isle of the Lost out at sea. “Daddy,” Ben asked. “What’s that?” Adam’s smile dropped and he sternly said, “That is the Isle of the Lost. That is where all the evil people are kept. No one will ever come out of there. Do you understand, son?” Ben meekly nodded as he turned his head back toward the Isle. He did understand what his father said, but something was telling him that his father was wrong. That not everything on the Isle was evil. Like he felt a gentle light coming from the Isle. He couldn’t explain it as he didn’t really understand what he was feeling and why he was feeling it. He was only four so he already knew that there were things he didn’t fully understand yet. So he kept quiet and focused back on the trip throughout the kingdom. He didn’t realize that soon his peaceful childhood would change.

The night of his fifth birthday was when the nightmares started. He started to dream about a boy with black hair in a place far far away who became a man in black who wore a creepy mask and did evil things. He would hear the whispers of an old man in the boy’s ears telling him to come to the dark. He felt the power this boy had and how it was used for terrible things. He even saw the man in black put his laser sword right through an old smuggler who looked at the man in black with caring eyes. Ben would always wake up crying for his parents and they would charge into the room holding and comforting their son. After a whole month of continuous nightmares, they took Ben to the doctor, who examined him and said that Ben was normal. Adam and Belle weren’t satisfied so they took him to Fairy Godmother, who had her own child, a daughter named Jane. She looked over the young prince and said, “I don’t sense anything evil at work here. I could give him a calming drought that will help him sleep better at night. That is all I can do, I’m afraid.” She handed a bottle with blue liquid inside to the king and queen and they had Ben take a spoonful that first night despite Ben opposing to taking it as it tasted bad. 

He tried to sleep but his body was reacting badly to the calming drought in his system and he was sweating profusely. He noticed that his sweat droplets were the same blue as the drought. He only felt better when the sweating stopped and he could no longer feel the drought in his system. He got out of bed and grabbed the bottle and ran into his bathroom and poured the rest of the medicine down the sink. He then got scared thinking, “What if Mommy and Daddy find out what I did with this?” Suddenly an idea came to him and he filled the empty bottle with water then carefully walked over to his play area and found some blue sand that when added to water it would change the color of the water to the color of the sand. Ben put in a few pieces of blue sand and the water changed to blue. He grinned to himself and put the bottle back on his nightstand and crawled into bed. He heard footsteps coming and pretended to sleep as he heard the door open and his mother whisper, “It’s working. He’s sleeping peacefully.” “Thank God,” Adam whispered. “We can ask him in the morning if he had any nightmares.” Ben heard the door close and he sighed to himself. He realized that he didn’t want to worry his parents about his nightmares or else they would get more of that yucky stuff so he decided to keep his dreams to himself. 

His dreams continued on, with his parents unaware of them as Ben just told them that they vanished. But his dreams weren’t always nightmares. Sometimes he dreamed of a princess singing the boy lullabies, or of the smuggler teaching the boy how to fly a spaceship, or even a giant fuzzy bear creature who gave the boy big hugs and walked around with him on his shoulders. But sometimes he would dream of a wizard who showed the boy how to control his powers, which always ended with the wizard standing above the boy while sleeping with a green sword about to bring it down on the boy, scaring Ben to awake. He would cry to himself but never loud enough to alert his parents. Those were the nights he didn’t get a lot of sleep and his parents would notice and ask about it, but Ben would just say that the wind/storm kept him up. Other nights would have Ben dream about the man in black who would wear his dark mask and shout, “You must remember!” Ben would wake up always after that and could never figure out what the man in black meant.

After his sixth birthday, he started to dream about a girl. A brown haired girl with 3 buns in her hair who would challenge the boy with swords that glowed different colors, who seemed to care about the man in black. He never found out her name, heck he never found out anyone’s names in his dreams. But on some nights instead of the brown haired girl, he would dream about a girl with purple hair on an island, which looked a lot like the Isle of the Lost. He dreamed of her crying when her blue haired father left her alone with her crazy mother, when she was left out of a blue haired girl’s 5th birthday party and her crazy mother banished the blue haired girl and her mother to the far side of the island as revenge, and seeing her wish for a friend, even though her mother told her that she didn’t need friends, just minions. Ben’s heart went out to this girl whose name he did not know. She seemed very similar to the brown haired girl with 3 buns in her hair. They felt like they were one and the same to him, despite looking completely different. He secretly hoped that this girl was real, because he wanted to meet her and become her friend and show her that everything will be OK. In fact, it seemed like he was starting to fall in love with her, which was crazy to say as a six year old. Like his other dreams, he kept his dream girl secret from his parents as remembering how they reacted to his nightmares by making him swallow disgusting medicine to get rid of them made him realize that they wouldn’t understand. He also didn’t share any of his dreams with Chip, Mrs. Potts, his grandfather, or any of the staff. He loved them all, but he felt that they will side with his mom and dad. That made him feel alone.

A few weeks before his 7th birthday, Ben had his dreams as usual: man in black with creepy mask doing bad things, girl with 3 buns fighting man in black, and purple haired girl living her life on the Isle of the Lost. But they all started to end in the same way, with a mysterious woman wearing a dark cloak and hood who always said, “The time has come, young prince. Time to find me and regain what you have lost. Come to me, Prince Ben.” Ben would wake up drenched in sweat as the words of the mysterious woman echoed in his ears. “What does she mean?” Ben asked himself. “What did I lose? Does it have something to do with the dreams I have been having these past couple years? But what about the purple haired girl? Does she also have something to do with this?” His head was hurting thinking about all of this. He sighed and looked at his bedroom door thinking, “There’s no way that Mom and Dad are going to understand any of this.” 

The day of his 7th birthday arrived. It was a hot summer day and the king and queen had a big birthday celebration on their castle grounds. Kings, queens, princes, princesses, and all sorts of other people that represented the kingdom of Auradon ranging from the Seven Dwarves to Peter Pan and his Lost Boys were there. Along with all of their children, some of which Ben had been having playdates with since forever. Ben felt like this wasn’t a birthday party but rather a grand ball with him as guest of honor. Why couldn’t he just have a quiet birthday with his family? But Ben knew that this was more for his parents than him, since pretty much all of Auradon seemed to be here, along with friends of his parents. They were particularly close with King Phillip and Queen Aurora, King Charming and Queen Cinderella, and Fairy Godmother. So that meant Ben had playdates with all of their children. Mainly Audrey, Chad, and Jane. The only one that Ben actually liked was Jane, even with her shy nature. Ben found her charming to hang out with and she was smart, like him. Chad, King Charming and Queen Cinderella’s son, was as dumb as a doornail sometimes. He was very arrogant and prideful about himself and always seemed to bully the other kids in kindergarten, mainly kids like Doug, Dopey’s son, but Ben and Lonnie, Mulan’s daughter, always helped Doug feel better. The main problem with Audrey, King Phillip and Queen Aurora’s daughter. She acted nice and sweet when she was around Ben, like she was trying to impress him and get into his good graces, but when she wasn’t around him, she became quite mean and spoiled, mainly to people like Jane. 

Ben had seen one of these instances when Audrey thought he wasn’t looking where she pushed Jane off the playground and left her crying and bleeding from her knee. When Audrey walked away, Ben ran up and helped Jane up and walked her to the school nurse. Ben said, “You should tell on her, Jane. That wasn’t nice of her to do to you.” “Please don’t,” Jane said. “Even if I wanted to, no one would believe me. Audrey is an angel. That’s what everyone thinks. She gets all of the pretty dresses, lavish vacations, and everyone waiting on her hand and foot, while little old plain Jane wears clothes her Mommy picked out and can’t defend herself. I’m nobody.” “Not to me,” Ben said. “I believe in you. You don’t need girls like Audrey to be your friend. I’ll be your friend.” Jane started to tear up and said, “Thanks, Ben.” 

Ben smiled remembering that day. He never wanted to be around Audrey ever again, but both of their parents seemed pretty insistent on having them spend time together, which he really didn’t understand why. He would rather spend time with the purple haired girl from his dreams than hang out with Audrey. Speaking of which, she and Chad were walking over to him. Ben groaned internally but put on a fake smile and said, “Audrey, Chad. How are you two?” “Your party rocks!” Chad shouted. Audrey glared at him and said, “Chad, why don’t you go eat some chocolate fondue?” Chad shrugged and walked away, leaving Ben along with Audrey who looked at Ben with a smile and said, “Thank you so much, Prince Ben, for inviting us to your birthday celebration.” Ben tilted his head to the side and said, “You don’t have to be so formal about it, Audrey. It’s just a birthday party.” Audrey giggled and said, “It’s more than just a birthday party, Prince Ben. You are the Crown Prince of Auradon. It’s a huge deal and everyone who is anyone is here to celebrate with you. Including me.” Ben internally rolled his eyes and said, “Glad you are enjoying yourself then. Can you please excuse me? I need to greet the other guests.” Audrey simply nodded then proceeded to curtsey him which made Ben roll his eyes internally again and she walked away, probably to find Chad or one of her girlfriends. Ben sighed and looked around for his parents. As he was walking around, he heard a voice in the wind whispering, “The time has come, young prince. Time to find me and regain what you have lost. Come to me, Prince Ben.” He looked around trying to figure out where the voice was coming from. It was the same one from his dreams. Now it was talking to him while he was awake. “What is going on?” Ben thought to himself. “Now my dreams are happening while I’m awake?” “Hey, Ben,” Chip said startling Ben out of his thoughts. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you. You OK?” Ben nodded and said, “It’s fine, Chip. I was actually looking for my parents. Have you seen them?” “Yea,” Chip answered. “They went to the king’s study along with King Phillip and Queen Aurora, along with Queen Leah.” Ben tilted his head in confusion. Why were his parents spending private time with Audrey’s parents and grandmother? He nodded Chip his thanks and ran inside the castle straight to his father’s study. 

He got to the door to his father’s study in a few minutes as he knew the layout of the castle inside and out having lived there his whole life. He noticed that the door was cracked open a little and he heard his parents talking to Audrey’s family. He crept to the door and peeked in to see and hear what was going on. “Today is a joyous day,” King Phillip said. “Indeed,” Adam replied. “My son turning seven means that soon enough he will take my place as King.” “He still has some growing to do,” Belle said. “And his childhood to live through. I am just still blessed to have a child at all. Adam and I haven’t been able to have any more children after Ben so I treasure every moment with my son. Ben is precious to me.” “I understand how you mean,” Queen Aurora replied. “Audrey is my world. She is growing up so fast. My little angel. She is the perfect princess.” Belle sighed to herself knowing that Queen Aurora could be a little pretentious at times but kept her mouth shut. Queen Leah cleared her throat and said, “Anyway, we are most gracious that you have chosen my granddaughter to help strengthen this kingdom in the near future.” Ben tilted his head in confusion. “What does Queen Leah mean by that?” Ben thought to himself. He listened closely as Phillip laughed and said, “Indeed. We should have known that Ben and Audrey would get along so well with each other. My daughter can’t stop singing the praises of your son, Adam.” Ben knew that wasn’t true at all. He tolerates Audrey, but he absolutely doesn’t like her. Her parents must be insane to think that. He heard his father laugh and say, “I agree. I can’t think of anyone better than Audrey to have as a future daughter in law.” Ben’s eyes widened. “What?” Ben thought. Queen Leah smiled and said, “Today will mark the first official day of the betrothal between your son and my granddaughter.” “Betrothal?” Ben was aghast. He may be only seven, but thanks to all the reading he did with his mom, he knew what a betrothal was. He looked down at the table all the adults were sitting around and he saw a scroll lying on top of it with pens lying next to it. Ben squinted his eyes and he saw the signatures of both of his parents. “They agreed to this?” Ben thought. Phillip raised his glass of champagne and said, “A toast. To the future King and Queen of Auradon, Ben and Audrey.” “To Ben and Audrey!” The others adults raised their glasses and joined the toast. 

Ben was horrified. “It can’t be!” Ben thought to himself, upset at what he heard. “I have to marry that mean, spoiled princess! No! I hate her! She’s not the one I want! I want my dream girl! This isn’t fair! Mom and Dad married for love, not an arranged marriage. So why are they forcing it on me?” Tears started to fall down Ben’s face and he couldn’t stand there listening anymore. He turned and ran away from the study, away from his party.

He ran through the garden outside of the west wing of the castle and stopped just outside of the garden where it showed the forest next to the castle. He cried and cried. He wanted to choose what he did with his life, not his parents. How could he be a great king if he had to married someone he hated? Why couldn’t it be the girl from his dreams? He held his face in his hands and cried, tears leaking down his face. 

Suddenly the wind picked up and rose petals flew through the air toward the forest and a voice called out, “Ben.” The young prince looked up and saw the mysterious woman from his dreams standing at the forest’s edge staring at him. “Ben,” The woman said. “The time has come. Time to regain what you have lost and what you need so you can start your true destiny. Come to me, young prince.” She disappeared into the forest and Ben stared at her retreating form. He should have been scared to follow her, but a piece of him begged him to follow the woman. She said that she will give him what he lost, what he needs in order to have his own destiny as Crown Prince. Wiping the tears from his eyes and without looking back at his home, he ran into the forest after the mysterious woman.

He ran and ran through the thick forest trying to catch up with the mysterious woman, but she was fast, almost in a supernatural kind of way. He tripped over a tree root, tearing a hole in his pants and causing it to bleed, but he got up and keeping going. He pushed through thick thorns, getting cuts on his face and arms, but he keeps pushing through, determined to follow the mysterious woman. Eventually he saw her pass through an old tree standing in the middle of a clearing. Ben thought, “How am I suppose to follow her now?” “Pass through, young prince,” he heard the woman say. “It is magic. Come to me.” Ben gulped and stuck his hand out and moved toward the tree. He was shocked to discover that his hand went right through the bark of the tree. He pulled his hand back in shock, then took a deep breath and walked into the tree itself, disappearing from sight.

Ben ended up in a tall, dark room where nature grew from all angles. And standing on the far side was the mysterious woman, who smiled at Ben and said, “Welcome, Prince Ben. I have been expecting you.” Ben stared at the mysterious woman and asked, “Who are you?” “I am called Agathe,” Agathe answered. “But you might also know me as The Enchantress.” Ben gasped and said, “You cursed my father into the form of a beast!” Agathe nodded and said, “I did. But only so that your father had the chance to have love in his life. And through my curse he was able to meet your mother. And you wouldn’t be standing here before me.” Ben realized that she was right and asked, “Why did you want me to come here? Have you been sending me those dreams for the past two years?” Agathe nodded and said, “I have. But I must tell you those aren’t dreams. They are memories. Memories of your past life.” “Past life?” Ben asked. “Indeed,” Agathe answered. “In your past life you were Benjamin Organa-Skywalker-Solo, son of Princess Leia Skywalker-Organa and Han Solo.” “I was the boy with black hair I have been dreaming about?” Ben asked. Agathe nodded as Ben continued, “But that means I was that man in black with the creepy mask! He did awful things! I’m nothing like him! You’re wrong!” 

Agathe smiled sadly as she waved her hand and a ball of light appeared startling Ben out of his anger. The ball of light shifted its form into the man in black causing Ben to take a few steps backwards in fear. “Do not be afraid, young prince,” Agathe said. “This is not the actual man in black, known by name as Kylo Ren, the name Ben Solo chose to call himself. He is just the form your memories took when you gave them to me all those years ago.” The form of Kylo Ren took over his helmet and Ben saw the man’s face clearly: the dark eyes, shoulder length black hair, and the scar cutting down the right side of his face. Ben stared at the man in front of him and asked, “This is me? What do you mean he is the memories I gave you?” Agathe nodded and suddenly eight other balls of light came out of her and materialized around Ben into different people. He recognized some of them from his dreams. “Wait,” Ben said. “I recognize some of you.” The older woman wearing a regal dress smiled and said, “My boy. Look how handsome you are. I am Leia, your mother from your past life.” “Please,” the smuggler next to Leia said, “He was always handsome. Hey, kid, Han Solo, your father. And this furry guy is Chewbacca, or Chewie for short.” Chewbacca roared softly. The wizard stepped forward and said, “Hello, Ben. I am Luke Skywalker, your uncle. Also here are your grandparents, Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala, along with two of my teachers, the old man is Obi-Won Kenobi, and the little green guy is Yoda.” The four other spirits bowed to the Prince as Padme said, “You have grown, Ben. It is nice to finally meet you in this life.” Ben tilted his head in confusion and looked back at Agathe and asked, “So why are you here? Why are they here? Why was I reborn here?”

Agathe smiled and said, “A little over seven years ago, your spirit came to this world along with these spirits as part of a wish made to something called the Force. I was chosen to be your guide to help you be reborn into this world. The Force wanted you to live a few happy years in peace with no memories of your past so I separated your memories from your soul. The dreams you started getting two years ago was the Force slowly reawakening you to your true self. The time has come to regain your original memories and complete your destiny.” Ben looked at Agathe and said, “That want you mentioned earlier. My destiny. How will regaining these memories help achieve my destiny?” “You were reborn to help this world,” Agathe answered. “When your father placed all of the villains on the Isle of the Lost, he disrupted the magical nature of this world and he banned magic as well. When you become King, you will help return this world to its rightful place and bring balance to all things.” “But Auradon is at peace now,” Ben countered. “Is it?” Agathe asked. Ben thought for a moment and realized that even though the kingdom was at peace, he couldn’t help but feel that something felt off. From his dreams of the purple haired girl, he noticed her along with several other people there, mainly children, who were suffering for crimes they did not commit. Speaking of her….

“Wait,” Ben said. “What about the purple haired girl I’ve been dreaming about? And she seems similar to the girl with 3 buns as well. Why am I dreaming about her?” Agathe smiled and said, “She is part of your destiny too. She was reborn here just like you were. The purple haired girl and the girl with 3 buns are the same girl.” She waved her hand and the girl with 3 buns appeared before Ben similar to Kylo Ren. “Her name is Rey,” Agathe continued. “She is your equal in the Force. You two are a dyad. Two that are one. She was the one who made the wish to the Force all those years ago and her spirit came here along with yours. These are her memories. She was reborn into Mal, the purple haired girl you keep dreaming about.” Ben stared at the form of Rey and smiled saying, “Rey. That sounds like a prettier name than Mal.” “Indeed,” Agathe agreed. “But Maleficent is arrogant and named her daughter after herself. Not even listening to my casual suggestion to name her Rey. But at least that’s what Hades calls her. Anyway, she like yourself doesn’t have her original memories and is trapped on the Isle along with everyone else there. Your soul is trying to reconnect with hers, hence why you started to dream about her.” “Does that mean she’s dreaming about me too?” Ben asked. “Not sure,” Agathe said. “That magical force field Fairy Godmother created limits how much of the Force can reach her. Along with magic. You are able to see her, but I don’t know if she can do the same to you.” Ben thought about the purple haired girl, Mal, or Rey, and that brought a smile to his face. He definitely felt a connection with her without ever meeting her and he wishes that she would be his future queen instead of Audrey. Seven years old and he already has a crush. 

Shaking his head from his thoughts, Ben asked, “So this is my destiny? To reunite with Rey…Mal, and bring balance to this world?” Agathe nodded and said, “Correct. The Isle of the Lost was created in horrible circumstances. Your father forced Hades to bring previously dead villains back to life only for them along with him to be imprisoned on that Isle. And banning magic has weakened this world and those who thrive on it. If you can bring Mal to Auradon, you two will be the hope that this world desperately needs.” “But I can’t just beg my father to release everyone from the Isle,” Ben countered. “Not even one girl.” “Maybe not now,” Agathe replied. “Maybe for your first proclamation as king you can bring her, and perhaps a few others, to Auradon to show that people on the Isle are suffering and need help. Then slowly you can help the people of Auradon understand that the Isle must be freed and magic must return. That will take time, I am sure of it. But the choice is yours, young prince. Will you regain your past memories, make your own choices, work to reunite with your lost love, and help this world, or will you walk away back to the life you know, with a betrothal you don’t want and a future decided for you?” 

Ben thought for a moment. Did he want to regain those painful memories of a man who did horrible things but have the chance to meet Rey…Mal and bring balance back to this world? Or did he just walk away, back to his castle where a girl he hated was waiting for him with a future that would leave many people, Mal included, suffering? “No,” Ben thought. “I am not going to let my kingdom suffer. Including those on the Isle of the Lost. Especially Mal. I want to save her. Save all those children on the Isle. I want to bring magic back to Auradon. This is my choice.” He looked up at Agathe with all of the spirits watching and said with confidence, “I’ll do it.” Agathe smiled as the eight spirits cheered. “Wise decision,” Agathe said. She waved her hand and the memories of Rey went back into her with Ben asking, “Once I bring Rey….Mal here, will she get her memories back too?” Agathe sighed and said, “Not right away. The Force will give her the memories back when it deems it time. Just like you. Please don’t push her. Just be patient.” Ben nodded then asked, “Will this hurt?” Agathe chuckled and said, “Not at all. It will just feel like you are waking up from a pleasant dream. These spirits who brought you here will bond with you again and help you along the way. Once your memories are returned to you, your powers with the Force will reawaken. You will learn how to expand them and become a powerful being in this world. I will continue to guide and help you. Are you ready, young prince?” 

Ben nodded and closed his eyes as Agathe started her chant as one by one the eight Force spirits floating to Ben and merged with him. Finally, his memories in the form of Kylo Ren, or rather Ben Solo, floating down and slowly merged with the young prince, his face superimposing over the prince’s face for a few seconds, then faded. Ben opened his eyes and looked at Agathe with a new weight on his shoulders. “Ben?” Agathe asked. “Do you remember?” “I remember,” Ben paused to take a deep breath and finished saying in his original deep voice, “Everything.” “Wonderful,” Agathe cheered. “But just be careful about that deep voice of yours. Your original self may slip in if you lose control of yourself. But it seems your memories are merging perfectly with you. How do you feel?” Ben closed his eyes and said back in his new form’s voice, “Calm. Peaceful. But sad. I remember everything I did in my original life, but I also remember my first seven years of this life. And I feel everything. I feel the Force again. And very faintly, I can feel Rey. Or rather Mal. Her sadness. Her anger. Her loneliness. I want to see her again. Reunite with her. Tell her how sorry I am. For everything.” Leaves and rocks that were in the room started to float around the prince as he rediscovered his connection to the Force. Suddenly the leaves and rocks thrust in many different directions, with the rocks blasting through the walls of the room. Ben looked sheepishly at Agathe and said, “I guess I need to relearn how to control my powers.” “In time,” Agathe replied. “Your powers are reawakening quickly. Luckily the Force spirits who brought you here will help you with that. They will always be with you. Don’t worry, only you and I can see them. Now, this is where I will leave you for now. I will return to you soon to help guide you on the next step for your destiny. For now, you must return to your family. They have noticed that you have disappeared from your birthday party.” “I need to come up with a story about where I went,” Ben said. “I don’t think they’ll appreciate me running off to meet the woman who cursed my dad and now have powers beyond their comprehension.” Agathe thought for a moment and said, “I think I can help with that.” 

Back at the castle, Ben’s birthday party was still going with no one realizing that the guest of honor was missing. Audrey was looking around with Chad standing next to her asking, “Trying to find your boyfriend?” Audrey glared at Chad and said, “He’e not my boyfriend. Not yet at least. He will once the announcement is made.” “What announcement?” Chad asked. “You’ll see,” Audrey said as she saw Lonnie walk past them and Audrey called out, “Have you seen Ben, Lonnie?” Lonnie turned around and said, “No. He was suppose to meet with me and Doug a little while ago. Why? You couldn’t keep your claws on him?” “Shut up, Lonnie!” Audrey growled as Chad laughed at her which earned him a whack on the head by Audrey. Lonnie grinned and walked away, knowing that she got one on the spoiled princess. Audrey looked up and saw King Adam and Queen Belle along with her parents and grandmother walk out to the party and towards the stage where the birthday cake was and Audrey said, “I’ll see you later, Chad. My moment has arrived.” Chad shrugged as Audrey ran up to her family and Aurora gave her daughter a big hug and said, “There’s my little angel. Let’s go. It’s time for the big announcement.” “But Mother, I can’t…” Audrey started to say but Queen Leah interrupted her and said, “No dwindling, Audrey.” “Yes, Grandmother Leah,” Audrey said as Phillip took her hand and the group followed King Adam and Queen Belle up to the stage.

“Good afternoon,” Adam shouted to the crowd, getting their attention and all of their heads turned to the stage. “My wife and I would like to thank all of you for coming today to celebrate the birthday of our son, Prince Benjamin.” The crowd clapped and cheered as the king continued, “Now, before we have the birthday boy blow out his candles, I have asked the royal family of Auroria up here to give an important announcement about the future of the United States of Auradon. So, Ben, if you could please come up here.” The crowd looked around to see the prince, but no was nowhere to be seen. “Ben?” Belle shouted out to the crowd but no one answered. “I was trying to tell you,” Audrey said with a snobby voice. “I couldn’t find Ben for the past hour or so.” “Why didn’t you say anything sooner?” Phillip asked in a harsh tone. Audrey tensed up to her father’s voice and started to cry as Aurora hugged her daughter and Queen Leah shouted, “We need to find that boy. Now!” 

Adam jumped off the stage and shouted, “Guards! The prince is missing! Spread out and search for him!” The palace guards spread out and started their search for Prince Ben. Some of the guests offered to help, which the king and queen greatly appreciated. They ran into Chip and Belle asked. “Chip, have you seen Ben anywhere?” “Well,” Chip answered. “Last I saw him, he went looking for the two of you, Your Majesty.” “We never saw him,” Adam said. “Do you have any idea where Ben could have gone?” Chip thought for a moment then said, “Ben likes to go hiking with me in the forest.” “Then that is where we will search,” Adam declared as he led the search party to the forest surrounding the castle.

They searched far and wide through the forest for the missing prince. They had to act fast as they were losing daylight. “Ben!” Adam shouted out to the forest. Suddenly a person from the search party, Mulan, shouted, “Your Majesty! I see something on the ground about 50 feet west of here.” Everyone ran west with King Adam and Queen Belle leading the charge. They all stopped in their tracks when they say what was in front of them: Prince Ben lying on the base of a tree with muddy clothes, cuts all over his face and arms, and torn up pants with a bloody knee. “Ben!” Belle cried as Adam ran forward and picked Ben up carefully bridal style and turned to the crowd and said, “Thank you everyone for helping find my son. I am afraid to say that the party must end early as Ben needs medical attention.” He and his wife walked through the crowds accompanied by their guards as everyone else turned around and went home, except the royal family of Auroria. “Adam,” Phillip asked. “What about the betrothal announcement?” “We need to postpone it,” Adam replied. “As you can see, my son needs to be looked at and that takes precedence.” “Agreed,” Aurora replied. “Right, mother?” Queen Leah clenched her jaw, but nodded, putting her hands on Audrey’s shoulders. The little princess stared at the prone figure of Ben hanging limply in his father’s arms. Despite all of her faults, she still felt bad for Ben. Phillip nodded and escorted his family to their limp to head back to Auroria. Adam carried his son back to the castle followed by his wife and the palace guards.

Ben opened his eyes and looked around. He discovered that he was in his own bedroom. He heard his father’s voice talking to someone about him, with a female voice, who he recognized as his doctor, reply back, something about him needing bedrest. He heard his mother crying so Ben said, “Mom? Dad?” His parents heard him and ran to him with his mother crying, “Ben! You’re awake!” “How did I get here?” Ben asked. “We found you out in the forest,” Adam answered. “The doctor said that you scrapped your knee and have several cuts all over your face and arms. Why were you out in the forest, son?” “Um,” Ben answered. “I remember feeling too overloaded by all the people here so I went to go look for you and Mom. I heard you two were busy so I decided to go for a walk to get some fresh air. I didn’t realize I walked that far from the castle. When I discovered that, I panicked and tried to run back, but then I fell to the ground. That’s the last thing I remember.” “Oh, honey,” Belle said as she hugged her son. Adam sighed and said, “What were you thinking, Ben? You could have gotten seriously hurt today.” “Dad,” Ben started but Adam started to pace the room and interrupted, “We had almost the entire kingdom here to celebrate your birthday! Your mother and I were about to make a big announcement about you and you went missing! We were worried sick! A perfect day ruined! And all of our guests too! All because you….” 

Adam stopped pacing when he heard sniffling. He turned to see Ben crying and looking at his dad with sad eyes. “I’m sorry, Dad.” Ben said. “I didn’t mean to worry everybody. I was just overwhelmed by all the people here that I wanted to get away for a little bit. I’m sorry I ruined the party.” He cried into his hands as Belle hugged her son and let him cry into her shoulder. She looked at Ben and said, “It’s not your fault, sweetheart. We just wanted to give you a special birthday party. We didn’t realize that it would upset you like this. Next time we will plan something smaller, right Adam?” The queen gave Adam a glare that took all of the anger out of him. Whenever his wife put her foot down, he stopped and listened. He sighed and said, “Of course. I am sorry I yelled at you, son. But next time, don’t go off into the forest by yourself. Do you understand?” “Yes, Dad,” Ben replied. “Now we just have to make all this up to the royal family of Auroria,” Adam added. “Why?” Ben asked. Belle sighed and said, “Don’t worry about that now, sweetheart. We can talk more in the morning. You need to get some rest.” The prince turned to his mom and asked, “What about the presents? What about the cake Mrs. Potts made?” “We can do all of that tomorrow,” Belle answered. “Now get some sleep. Goodnight.” She kissed her son’s forehead and got up off the bed and took Adam’s arm. Adam looked at his son and said, “Goodnight, son. Happy birthday.” “Goodnight,” Ben replied, closing his eyes and falling asleep. Adam and Belle crept out of the room and closed the door. “What are we going to do about the betrothal announcement?” Adam asked. “We can worry about that later,” Belle said. “Right now, our focus should be on our son’s wellbeing. Plus, we should have told him first about the betrothal before trying to announce it to the kingdom without him knowing beforehand. It’s not fair to him. For now, we let him rest and recover. Then we can tell him about it then discuss it with Audrey’s family. Agreed?” “Agreed,” Adam said. “Come. Let’s retire for the night.” 

Once Ben heard his parents walk away from his bedroom door, he opened his eyes and sat up. “Glad to see that worked,” Ben said to himself. “You were quite the little actor.” Ben turned and saw the spirit of his grandfather, Anakin Skywalker standing next to his bed. “Top marks all around.” “I had to do something,” Ben whispered, not wanting anyone outside his room to hear him. “How else was I suppose to explain why I was gone for a couple of hours? I couldn’t walk up to them and say, “Hey guys. I just decided to follow the woman who cursed Dad into the forest and have myself reawakened as Ben Solo and now I have these powers thanks to something called the Force.” Plus, did all of you guys really need to knock me out that much?” “Absolutely,” Anakin answered. “Agathe thought it would be a good idea. You already had some injuries running into the forest. You just needed a cover story.” “Too true,” Ben replied. “Now I just need to start getting all that I need to do into motion. Starting with getting rid of that betrothal agreement. My parents seriously didn’t think to let me know first before announcing it to the entire kingdom? Are they nuts? If I have any chance of reuniting with Rey…Mal, then that contract needs to go.” 

“Patience, grandson,” Anakin said. “These things you need to accomplish won’t happen overnight. It will take time and patience. For now, you need to rest. Regaining your memories, reawakening your powers, and having your body become the vessel for all of us Force spirits on top of your soul has worn you out. We can talk more later. For once you are healed, the training begins.” “Seriously?” Ben said. “I am perfectly trained in the ways of the Force, thank you. I just need to relearn control.” “The Force has evolved,” Anakin replied. “Your powers will be stronger in this world. Plus, there may be some new ones on top of it. You remember all the knowledge Agathe shared with you when you first arrived. There is a lot you don’t understand or have control over. If you want all of this to succeed, you must listen to all of your guides and master all that you are. Do you understand?” Ben nodded as Anakin chuckled and said, “It’s funny. You look more like a younger me in this form than you did before.” “Really?” Ben asked. Anakin nodded and said, “Goodnight, grandson.” Anakin’s spirit merge back into Ben’s body as Ben whispered, “Goodnight, grandfather.” Ben looked around and saw a book lying on a table on the far side of his bedroom. He reached out his hand to test his Force powers. Within three seconds, the books rose from the table and flew into Ben’s hand. Ben smiled and said, “Let my destiny begin.”


	3. Post Birthday Fun

Ben woke up the next morning feeling stronger than he ever had in his new life. He sat up and looked over his injuries and was shocked to discover that the cuts on his arms disappeared. He got out of bed and walked over to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. He was shocked to see that all the cuts on his face were gone. Ben rolled his pajama pant leg up and undid the wrapping on his knee and saw that the wound on his knee was almost gone, just a little bit of a scab left. 

“Looks like you heal fast.” Ben looked up to the mirror and saw his uncle, Luke Skywalker, standing next to him. Ben sighed and turned to face his uncle and said, “Hello to you too, Uncle. I assume this is proof that my Force connection is fully back?” Luke nodded and answered, “Yes. Actually it seems a little stronger than before. Almost like it wants to protect you from any harm. Interesting. I wonder if this will have the same affect on magic used against you.” Ben was about to ask what his uncle was talking about, but then he remembered what Agathe told him when his soul arrived here over seven years ago and said, “Agathe did say that I would have a natural immunity towards magic. Is that the Force’s doing?” “I believe you are correct,” Luke said. “The Force is stronger than the magic of this world. Thus it would help you defend yourself from it.” “Wait,” Ben said remembering an event from his past. “When I started to get my past memories in the form of dreams and nightmares, Fairy Godmother gave my parents a calming drought that I didn’t want to take and my body didn’t agree with. I remember sweating profusely and stopped when I felt the drought was fully out of my system. How could that have happened if my Force connection wasn’t reawakened yet?” Luke thought for a moment then answered, “Perhaps because you didn’t want to take it and the fact that you needed to start having those dreams, the Force must have helped you get rid of the magic another way. Your soul still had a weak connection to the Force. Regaining your memories and powers reawakened your connection fully. I suspect if anything like that would happen again, then the process of defending your body against the magic will be a lot quicker and much less painful. Like you didn’t even know it was there. However, from what Agathe told you, if you wanted the magic to work, you could have let it. It’s just the matter of control.

Ben nodded as he realized, “Wait. How am I going to explain to my mom and dad that my injuries healed overnight?” “That could be a problem,” Luke answered. Both Force users thought for a while when Luke got an idea, “Perhaps a little mental persuasion could be the key.” “The Jedi mind trick?” Ben asked. “Doesn’t that only work on the simple minded?” “That is true,” Luke answered. “But this is a bit more than that. If they bring it up, I can appear next to them and plant the suggestion in their heads.” “Why can’t I do it?” Ben asked. “They’ll be looking straight at you,” Luke answered. “Even they would realize something is amiss. Just make sure you have all their focus while I plant the suggestion in their minds. Now what should that suggestion be?” “I have an idea,” Ben said. “When my father was cursed as a beast, he healed quickly from non-fatal injuries. I could have inherited some parts of his beastly qualities.” Luke smiled and said, “Not bad, nephew.”

Suddenly Ben felt the presence of his parents closing in on his bedroom. “My parents are coming!” Ben whispered. “Quick, back to bed,” Luke commanded. Ben ran back to his bed and got under the covers and pretended to sleep. He heard the door open and his mother calling, “Ben? Are you awake?” Ben rolled over and gently opened his eyes and whispered, “Yes, mom. I am now.” Belle chuckled and walked into the room with Adam following behind her. “How are you feeling, son?” Adam asked. “Better,” Ben said sitting up. Belle looked over Ben’s face and said, “The cuts on your face are gone. Weird. Let’s look at your knee.” She pulled the covers off of Ben and pulled up Ben’s pant leg and unwrapped the bandage and saw that his knee was mostly healed. “Your knee is almost good as new,” Belle commented. “That is interesting,” Adam added as Ben looked over his father’s shoulder and saw Luke nodding to him and walked up to Belle as Ben asked, “Why is that interesting?” Before Belle or Adam could answer, Luke waved his hand over Belle and planted the suggestion in her mind. He walked over to do the same to Adam as Belle said, “Perhaps he got some of your abilities, Adam, from when you were a beast. You did have fast healing. Remember that wound you got on your arm when you rescued me from the wolves?” Luke planted the suggestion in Adam’s mind who replied, “Ah yes. That could be it. My boy has gotten some traits from me indeed since I still have some beastly abilities.” Ben quietly sighed as Luke gave him a wink and disappeared, merging back into Ben’s body. 

“So Ben,” Belle asked. “Are you up for some post birthday fun?” Ben smiled and said, “Yes. We still have all of my presents to open and blow out the candles on my birthday cake and…” “Whoah, whoah,” Adam interrupted. “Slow down, son. One thing at a time. Let’s just start with breakfast.” “OK, Dad!” Ben shouted as he jumped out of his bed and ran out the door. “Ben, slow down!” Belle shouted. “You need to put some proper clothes on first!” That stopped Ben in his tracks. He turned around and walked straight to his closet with his parents chuckling at him.

Ben enjoyed his post birthday. Mrs. Potts made him all of his favorite foods for all 3 meals, he got presents of all shapes and sizes, and got to blow out the candles on his big birthday cake. This was the kind of birthday he’d rather have; not some grand ball that his parents planned for him yesterday. He was smiling the whole day, all the way up until his parents tucked him into bed and kissed him goodnight. Ben was surprised that they didn’t mention the betrothal contract to him at all yet. But he technically wasn’t suppose to know about it, so he stayed quiet about it. He laid his head on his pillow and closed his eyes. But then he heard someone humming a lullaby and felt fingers brushing through his hair. He opened his eyes and saw the Force spirit of his original mother, Leia, sitting next to him on his bed. Han was sitting on the other side of him smiling down on him. “Hey, kid,” Han said. “We wanted to wish you a belated happy birthday. Well, your new birthday, that is.” Ben laughed and sat up as Leia hugged him and whispered, “Oh, Ben. I wish I was there for you more in your original childhood. I saw how happy you were with your new family and it made me remember what ours could have been. I should have been a better parent and listened to you about the voices in your head and your powers. I shouldn’t have shipped you off to your uncle. Please forgive me.” “Mom,” Ben hugged her tight. “I did things too that I’m not proud of. I wasn’t the best kid in my first life. It’s me who should be asking for forgiveness.” Han chuckled and said, “We all have done stuff we aren’t proud of. We need to learn from them and move on. So calm down, princess.” Leia whacked Han on the head as Ben laughed. 

“Ben,” Leia said. “All of us Force spirits wanted to give you a gift for your birthday.” Suddenly the other six Force spirits surrounded Ben’s bed. Chewbacca roared softly a few times as Han translated, “Chewie’s saying he’s proud of the choices you have made so far in this life. He’s says you’ve earned this gift.” “What gift?” Ben asked. Luke stepped forward and held out his hand. In it was a Kyber crystal. “I’m pretty sure you know what this is,” Luke said handing the crystal to Ben. The prince held the crystal in his hands and said, “My own Kyber crystal? Thank you.” “You are most certainly welcome, grandson,” Anakin said. Ben examined the crystal and said, “There aren’t any cracks in it. My last one did.” “You haven’t done any actions to make it crack and bleed,” Obi-Wan said. “Since you were given a second chance,” Yoda added. “New crystal you are given. Protect it, you must.” Ben started to tear up in his eyes which Leia noticed and hugged her son saying, “You’ve earned it, Ben. With it, you can build a new lightsaber. One that reflects the new you. Until you can do that, keep it safe.” “I will,” Ben said. 

Padme stepped forward and said, “And we would like to give you this as well.” She held out her hand that had another Kyber crystal in it. Ben took it and asked, “Why are you giving me two?” “This one isn’t for you, young Skywalker,” Yoda said. “This one is the other half of the dyad.” “This is Rey’s….Mal’s?” Ben asked. The Force spirits nodded as Leia said, “We trust you to guard this until the Force deems it time to give it to her. Maybe as her own birthday gift one day.” “When is her birthday?” Ben asked. “Why,” Obi-Wan answered. “It’s today.” Ben gasped, “Her birthday is the day after mine? I want to wish her happy birthday.” The Force spirits chuckled as Han said, “You made be an old soul, but being in the body of a 7 year old has regressed your behavior somewhat.” That earned another whack in the head from Leia. 

“Then let’s have this be your first lesson,” Luke said. “Meditation.” “Really?” Ben whined. “I always hated meditating.” Han chuckled under his breath as Leia glared at her husband. Anakin laughed and said, “Don’t worry. It’s easier than you think. Besides, this is how you can connect to Rey.” Ben stared at his grandfather and asked, “Really?” Anakin nodded and said, “The Force Bond you two had in your first life is still there, but now you can control when you two connect. However, you must be careful. She does not have the strong connection to the Force that you do right now. So you are going to practice connecting with her through mediation. If you are doing it correctly, you will be able to see her, but she won’t be able to see you. Once her Force connection is reawakened, then you two will be able to see each other through the Force. So, close your eyes.” Ben obeyed and closed his eyes. “Take a few deep breaths,” Luke added. Ben breathed in slowly, then out slowly. “And think about who you want to see,” Leia added. Ben concentrated on wanting to see Mal. Eventually, a vision came to him. He saw Mal, sitting on a window sill, looking down to the Isle below her. Ben could hear her mother cackling somewhere else in the house Mal was in and saw Mal sigh. He could tell how sad she looked, and he can feel her feelings of loneliness, that even though she put on a tough face to those around her, it was just a cover. Ben wanted to make her smile, especially since it was her birthday. “Happy Birthday, Mal,” Ben whispered. He was shocked to see that Mal sharply turned her head around, as if she heard the voice and was trying to find its source. “She heard me?” Ben thought. Mal looked out the window again and whispered, “I don’t know who said that, but thanks.” She turned and walked away. 

Ben came out of his meditation and opened his eyes. “I saw her,” Ben told the eight Force spirits around him. “I can feel everything she was feeling. She was sad so I wished her happy birthday. And she heard me.” “Interesting,” Obi-Wan said. “So Agathe might have been on to something,” Luke said. “She did say that the magical force field around the Isle might not completely block out the Force,” Anakin said. “Whatever the case,” Yoda said. “You did well, young Skywalker.” “You have taken your first step into a larger world,” Obi-Wan added. “Tomorrow,” Luke said. “Is when the work begins. Not only will your training start, but taking the steps for your destiny will also begin.” “How so?” Ben asked. “Let it go for tonight, son,” Han said. “Time to get some sleep,” Leia added, giving Ben a kiss on his forehead. The Force spirits glowed and merged back into Ben’s body as the young prince looked at the two Kyber crystals in his hand. “Don’t worry,” Ben whispered. “I’ll keep both of these safe.” He put the two crystals under and pillow and laid down on it, closing his eyes and falling fast asleep, ready to start the first step of his destiny.


	4. The First Step and Lesson

The morning after Ben’s post birthday and Mal’s birthday, Ben woke up a little after the sun started to rise in the sky. He sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He remembered what he received last night and turned around to pull his pillow up. Lying there on his bed were the 2 Kyber crystals, right where he placed them the night before. They glowed in the sunlight that poured from his bedroom window and Ben could feel the power radiating off of them. “I promised to keep them safe,” Ben thought to himself. “But I can’t keep them under my pillow. The staff will find them easily once someone comes in to get the bedsheets. I could keep them on my person, but how?” Suddenly the Kyber crystals glowed brightly making Ben shield his eyes from the light. When the glow dimmed back down to normal, Ben opened his eyes and saw that the Kyber crystals were now enclosed in a small glass locket that was held by a silver chain. “Well that happened,” Ben thought as he picked up the necklace. “Guess my wish was heard. This world can be strange indeed.”

Suddenly he heard a knock on his bedroom door and a voice call out, “Prince Ben! Are you awake?” Ben quickly put the necklace on and made sure it was hidden under his pajama shirt before he shouted, “I’m awake!” The door opened and in walked Chip with a smile on his face. “Hey, Chip,” Ben greeted. Chip bowed and said, “Good morning, Prince Ben. I came to let you know that your parents are expecting you in your father’s study after you finish breakfast.” “Are they not joining men for breakfast?” Ben asked. “Unfortunately no,” Chip answered. “They have some calls to make beforehand. That’s why I’m here.” Ben chuckled to himself and said, “Thanks, Chip. I’ll throw some clothes on and meet you downstairs in a few minutes.” Chip nodded and walked out of Ben’s bedroom and closed the door behind him. Ben sighed and got out of bed and walked to his closet. “I have a feeling about what my parents want to talk to me about.”

“Then we need to make sure you dress appropriately.” Ben turned around and saw Padme standing in the doorway of his closet. “Grandmother Padme,” Benn said. “Why do you want to help dress me? I can dress myself.” “Maybe,” Padme replied. “But if you are going to your father’s study to discuss that betrothal contract that you need to break, then you need to look like the prince you are. Trust me, I know all about fashion.” Padme then shifted her form and showed off several of her past queen and senator outfits to Ben before shifting back into her usual dress. “Now I know where my mother got her fashion sense from,” Ben replied. “But I don’t know if I will be able to break the contract this soon. I don’t even know what’s fully on it.” “Then I know you will be smart and patient,” Padme said. “But you still need to look the part. Now come on, grandson. Let’s get started.” Ben sighed as his grandmother started pulling clothes out to see what would look good on him.

Ben walked down to the dining room wearing blue dress pants, a white dress shirt, a blue dress coat, and shiny black shoes. He combed his hair so that there weren't any knots in it. Chip was shocked to see Ben all dressed up and asked, “What’s the special occasion?” Ben sighed and said, “You said that my parents are waiting for me in my father’s study. I am only ever summoned to his office when something important is about to happen. So I thought I would dress up for it.” Chip shrugged and the two boys sat down and ate breakfast. “You seem to have healed rather quickly,” Chip commented. “Yea,” Ben agreed. “I guess I inherited some beastly traits from my dad.” “Well,” Chip said. “At least you don’t find yourself taking naps on shelves like I do. Spending all those years as a teacup does things to you.” Ben chuckled as finished eating and said, “Well, I’m off to see my folks.” “Good luck,” Chip said as Ben walked to his father’s office.

As Ben was walking to his father’s office, the Force spirits were in his head trying to give him advice about what to do and what to say. “Keep your chin up,” Yoda commented. “Don’t show any signs of wavering or anger,” Padme added. “He has every right to be angry,” Han retorted. “Do you want the kid to marry that spoiled brat?” “But if he shows anger,” Leia rebuttaled. “Then his parents might suspect that he knows more than he should. Then they might question why he really ran away two days ago.” “Guys!” Ben mentally shouted. “I know what I need to do. Just because my new body is only 7 years old doesn’t mean I am that age mentally. I need to plan this out. I need to see the contract to find if there is any escape clause. It’s already signed so that would be the only way to get out of it without chaos breaking out. I already know that Audrey and her family will not be happy when I do eventually break it. I need to be smart about this.” “Looks like someone was listening to me this morning,” Padme commented. Ben got a few seconds of silence when Luke added, “You could always burn it.” “Luke!” Leia shouted. “That’s what Master Yoda did with the sacred Jedi texts.” “Rey took those texts with her before the temple was burned to the ground.” “She is correct in that statement,” Yoda added. “Whatever the case,” Anakin interrupted. “We just need to put our faith in Ben. I know he can do this.” Chewie roared in approval. “Thanks,” Ben mentally said. “And Ben,” Anakin said. “May the Force be with you,” all the spirits said as they left his mind in peace.

Ben got to the door of Adam’s office and Ben knocked on the door. “Come in, son,” Adam called out. Ben took a deep breath and hid his sadness and anger before pushing through the door and entering the study. “Good morning, Ben,” Adam greeted. “Have a seat, son.” Ben gulped and sat down in a chair opposite his parents. “You look handsome,” Belle commented. “All dressed up for this special occasion.” “What special occasion?” Ben asked. “Well,” Adam said. “You remember all of the playdates that you had with Audrey.” Ben nodded as Adam continued, “Well our family and her family noticed that you two were getting along nicely and we talked to each other about it. And we all decided that you two would be a great match.” “For what?” Ben asked. “For marriage,” Belle answered. 

On the inside, Ben felt his rage building up, but he remembered the words of the Force spirits and he kept calm on the outside. He took a deep breath and asked, “Marriage?” His parents nodded and showed him the betrothal contract. “You will be crowned king after your 17th birthday,” Adam said. “Then the formal engagement will start a year later after your 18th birthday. After you have graduated high school, then your marriage and Audrey’s coronation as queen will occur.” Ben stared at the document in front of him, seeing signatures from both families, as he saw two days ago. He looked up at his parents and asked, “Is this what you two wanted to announce at my birthday party?” His parents nodded as Ben continued, “Why wasn’t I told of this beforehand?” “We apologize for that,” Belle said. “Audrey’s family have been insistent about announcing it as soon as we all signed it.” “But this is about my future,” Ben argued, a little of his anger coming out. “I didn't want to find out at the same time everyone else of Auradon did. That’s not fair.” “Watch your tone,” Adam warned. Ben took some more deep breaths and said, “All I am saying, father, is that I feel like I wasn’t taken into account for this. Was Audrey part of the discussions at all?” “No, she wasn’t,” Belle answered, but then muttered, “But knowing her family they probably filled her in every step of the way.” “Whatever the case,” Adam said. “This contract has been signed and sealed. Audrey will be the queen of Auradon as you will be king. You two are a great match and hold a bright future for this kingdom. Your union will make Auradon stronger.” 

“But what if I don’t love her?” Ben asked. “Isn’t that why you two got married?” Adam sighed while Belle said, “That is why both of the families are giving you two time to get to know each other and fall in love. Audrey’s parents had an arranged marriage and they ended up being each other’s true loves. And your father and I didn’t like each other at first, but then we got to know each other and grew to love each other. So we are giving you two the best of both in this case.” “You need to give this a chance, son,” Adam declared. “I need to look at this more closely away from their prying eyes,” Ben thought. He looked up at his parents and said, “Alright, father. I will give this a chance.” “That’s my boy,” Adam said as Belle smiled at him. Ben added, “Can I borrow this for the day? I want to read it over myself so I can fully understand it.” “Of course,” Belle answered before Adam could say anything. She wanted her son at least to have a chance to look it over. “Also,” Ben said. “I want to wait before we make the public announcement. Just until I have read it over and officially agreed to it. I want to do this properly this time.” “Alright,” Adam said as he picked up the contract and handed it to Ben. “I want that back here at this time tomorrow.” “Yes, sir,” Ben said. “Am I dismissed?” Both parents nodded as Ben bowed to them and walked out of the study. “He sounded so formal there,” Adam said. “He’s just trying to be the prince he needs to be,” Belle said. “This probably isn’t easy for him to accept right away. Give him time.” 

Ben got back to his room and went straight to his desk. He placed the contract on it and took off his coat before sitting down. He then read every part of it, several times in fact, to see if there was any way to break it. After a hour of looking over it, he groaned as the Force spirits gathered around him. “Any luck?” Leia asked. Ben shook his head and said, “I have read each inch of this piece of paper for over an hour. It’s legally binding. Unless one of us dies, according to what’s written, it can’t be broken.” “There’s always a way,” Obi-Wan said. “Perhaps it is hidden,” Yoda suggested. “Whatever the case,” Luke said. “You should take a break. Besides, you need to have your first lesson. Is there anywhere you can train in this castle without being seen?” Ben thought for a moment and said, “There’s a training room in the back of the castle that no one really uses. We could try there.” “Good,” Anakin said. “Now get out of those ridiculous clothes and put something more appropriate on.” Padme smacked her husband’s head with her hand and said, “Hey! I picked that out for him. Manners!” Ben chuckled and ran into the closet to change into some workout clothes. 

Ben got to the training room as Luke, Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Yoda appeared before him. “So,” Luke said. “Time for your first lesson.” “You started this last night when you connected with Mal,” Anakin said. “But you need to be able to connect with everything and everyone. Not just the other half of your dyad.” “Connected we all are with the Force,” Yoda added. “But only you and Mal are the only ones on this world that are sensitive to it,” Obi-Wan finished. “You must be very careful with not alerting people to that fact. It could be mistaken for magic and could get you into trouble before your task is complete.” “So,” Luke concluded. “You need to control your connection to it. You saw how powerful you could be when you reawakened, but even a little loss of control could be your downfall.” “OK,” Ben said. “I understand. I will be careful.” 

“Good,” Anakin said. “Now sit on the ground like you would for meditation.” Ben sat down as instructed as Yoda said, “Close your eyes and clear your mind.” Ben closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. “Try what you did in front of Agathe and feel everything around you. But control what you seek out.” “Start simple,” Luke said. “Find those here in the palace.” Ben focused and searched for Chip through the Force. “Did you find someone?” Anakin asked. “Yes,” Ben answered. “I found Chip. He’s in the kitchen with Mrs. Potts, his mother. He’s helping her with prep work for dinner.” “Good,” Yoda said. “Try another.” Ben nodded and found Cogsworth. “It’s Cogsworth,” Ben said. “And he’s arguing with Lumiere again. They always argue about everything.” “How about another?” Obi-Wan asked. Ben searched and found his grandfather. “It’s Grandpa Maurice,” Ben said. “He’s tinkering with his inventions again. He’s always doing that.” 

“Now to take it up a step,” Luke said. “Go beyond the barriers of this castle. Look for someone far away from here.” Ben concentrated and went to the kingdom of Auroria. He found Audrey playing dress up in her room pretending to be Queen of Auradon. Ben almost gagged at the sight which made Anakin chuckle and ask, “Something you didn’t want to see?” “Audrey,” Ben answered with an annoyed tone. “I had a feeling that she already knew about the betrothal. She was the one who made up those lies to her family about how great we get along. She just wants all of the attention. Typical.” He concentrated and found Audrey’s parents and grandmother drinking tea together with Queen Leah asking, “When is this betrothal going to be announced? Our legacy is at stake here.” “Mother,” Aurora warned her mother. “We have to wait until the king and queen decide it’s time,” Phillip answered. “Ben is still recuperating from his injuries. They will let us know when they want to reschedule the announcement.” Queen Leah huffed and said, “That shouldn’t matter. When our two families decided to betroth the both of you, we announced to the kingdom the same day as Aurora’s presentation. Whatever the case, this is our chance to be on the throne of Auradon. Like you two should have been.” “Mother!” Aurora warned. “Adam and Belle were voted by the council. You have to accept that.” “But Audrey is our way to it,” Queen Leah retorted. “She will make sure that the boy won’t go soft. Those two are the new generation that will make this kingdom thrive more than it has. And maybe instead of keeping that Isle of the Lost, they will have it and everyone on it destroyed like the king and queen should have done!”

Ben gasped as he opened his eyes as Obi-Wan asked. “What happened? What did you see?” “Audrey’s family,” Ben answered. “Specifically her grandmother, Queen Leah. She is jealous that King Phillip and Queen Aurora weren’t chosen 10 years ago to be the King and Queen of Auradon. She sees Audrey as her chance for her family to have the throne. And she’s trying to get her daughter and son in law on her side, which might be working. She wants Audrey to keep me under control and possibly have the Isle destroyed. I can’t let that happen!” Ben’s anger spiked and it broke one of the overhead lights, causing glass from the lightbulb to crash onto the floor.” “Calm yourself, young Skywalker,” Yoda said. “Don’t give in to the Dark side. Stay in the Grey as you should.” 

Ben nodded and took some deep breaths and said, “I want to see one last place. The Isle of the Lost. I need to know what is happening there.” The four Force spirits looked at each other and then at Ben with Luke saying, “Alright. Just be prepared for seeing things that may upset you.” Ben nodded and closed his eyes and took some deep breaths. He concentrated his mind to the Isle of the Lost. He was worried about meeting resistance since he remembered Agathe’s words about the shield limiting how much of the Force goes in, but after a couple tries, he got through. But what he saw broke his heart. He saw people dressed in rags walking around the streets, eating rotten food which almost made Ben gag. He saw people ganging up on those who were weaker than them and beating them up. Worst of all, was all of the children he saw suffering, especially those who had famous villains for parents. The blue-haired girl he remembered from his visions of Mal sitting in a dark castle all alone with only her beauty-crazed mother for company. A black and white hair boy having to do so many chores for his fur obsessed mother and sleeping in a closet full of bear traps, all cold and alone. And seeing a boy wearing a beanie being forced to steal for his father’s shop. 

When Ben opened his eyes, tears started to leak down his face. He looked up at the four Force spirits and cried, “It was horrible. The conditions they live in, what people do to those who are weak. And all of those innocent children. They are all suffering.” He pulled his legs up and sobbed into them. Luke knelt down and said, “That is why you need to do this, Ben. Those children are suffering for crimes they did not commit. They need to have a better life. You are the one along with Mal to help bring balance back to this world. Freeing those on the Isle is one giant part of it. The people of Auradon fear those who are different than themselves, whether it’s those who have done evil deeds to those who have powers beyond anyone else. You can help restore the balance that this world lost. Have faith in the Force. Have faith in yourself.” Ben nodded and hugged his uncle, which surprised him remembering the two’s not so great past with each other. “That should conclude today’s lesson,” Obi-Wan said. “Many hours have you used without your knowledge,” Yoda said. Ben looked up at the clock and Yoda was right. It was almost dinner time. “Go on,” Anakin said. “You deserve a break.” Ben nodded as the spirits disappeared back into his body and walked out of the room.

Ben sat through dinner mostly quiet and he really did not eat a lot which concerned his parents. When asked, Ben lied and said that he had a big breakfast with Chip that morning and he was tired. He dismissed himself back to his room for the rest of the night. Adam and Belle looked at each other worriedly about their son, but decided that he needed some space after what happened that morning and said that they will talk to him tomorrow when he returned the betrothal contract. Ben got back to his room and put his pajamas on and climbed into bed. He looked at his desk where the betrothal contract was and sighed, “How am I going to break that?” Ben laid down in bed and closing his eyes, a tear escaping from one as he fell asleep. 

A little after midnight, a light appeared in Ben’s room. When it dimmed back down, Agathe appeared at the foot of Ben’s bed. She looked down on the sleeping prince and said, “Awaken, young Skywalker.” Ben shot up and looked around, seeing Agathe standing at the end of his bed. “Hello, Agathe,” Ben greeted. “What are you doing here?” Agathe giggled and said, “I did say I would come to you soon.” “In the middle of the night?” Ben asked. “Why not?” Agathe retorted. “Everyone else is asleep. Prefect timing. Besides, there were some things I wanted to discuss with you that could not wait any longer.” Ben yawned and gave his whole attention to the Enchantress and said, “Alright. Tell me what I need to know.”

“First off,” Agathe said. “Do you like the necklace I made you?” Ben looked down at the necklace containing the two Kyber crystals then looked back up at Agathe and asked, “This was you?” Agathe nodded and said, “I heard your wish of wanting a better way to hide them. And I listened.” “Thank you,” Ben said. Agathe smiled and said, “I am always watching, young prince. Now, I know that your parents spoke to you about your betrothal officially to Princess Audrey. You have the contract in your person?” Ben nodded but before he could get up and grab it for her, Agathe raised her hand and the contract magically appeared in it. “Wanted to save you the trouble,” Agathe reasoned. “Now, I assume you have looked over each inch of this?” Ben nodded sadly and said, “It’s legally binding. There is no way I can break it.” “Under normal circumstances, no,” Agathe said. “But do you see this blank section between the last paragraph and the signatures? It’s blank because there is actually a secret writing there. Writing that many people don’t realize is part of every kind of contract there is. Not even your family or Audrey’s family know of it.” “What writing?” Ben asked. “Normally it won’t become visible until the correct time,” Agathe said. “But if you hold this under moonlight…” 

Just as she said that, the clouds parted and the moon shone down through Ben’s bedroom window right onto the contract and suddenly new words glowed on the paper shining like the moonlight. “Wow,” Ben said. Agathe nodded and read, “However, if either of the betrothed find their true love and declare their love for them, their other declaring it as well, and sealing it with a kiss of true love, then this contract will become void and the betrothal will be broken.” Ben’s eyes widened and said, “An escape clause. I knew there might be one. So there is a way to break it? I can truly be with Rey….Mal?” Agathe nodded and said, “No one can challenge the act of true love unless they are ready for the consequences for it. If any part of this writing happens, then it becomes visible to everyone.” “So even me declaring my love for her will make it appear?” Ben asked. “Then I can do it now or even right when I bring her over here.” “Not quite, young prince,” Agathe said. “You cannot rush these things. Your mind may be ready to say it, but will your heart? You may remember your life with her before, and have visions of her, but you must see the real her when she is standing in front of you, get to know who she is, both her light and her dark, like she must with you. Your heart will let you know along with the Force when the time is right to declare your love for her. And you must not rush it with her to say it and force a true love’s kiss. Don’t mess with matters of the heart, young Skywalker.” Ben thought about it for a moment and realized that Agathe was right. His mind thought himself ready, but his heart didn’t. He needed to do this the proper way, meet her face to face and learn more about her in this new life. He never really experienced true love in his last life because of this strained relationship with his family back then and he remembered he was more obsessed with Mal when she was Rey and only started to feel real love right for her at the end of his last life. He already had a connection with her; this time, he wanted to develop something better than he did before. He looked at Agathe and said, “You’re right. I shouldn’t rush this. I will do this properly. I will work on trying to develop this crush into love. And I won’t force it.” Agathe smiled and said, “Good choice.” 

“Now,” Agathe said. “Back to your necklace. I added a little magic to it that might be useful to you. I saw that you started to train today. That is good, but you need a more secret location. So I developed a place for you. All you need to do is focus on your Kyber crystals and think about what you want to do. Then an door will appear which will lead you to your new secret hideout. Go ahead.” Ben nodded and held onto his necklace. He focused on what Agathe told him and suddenly a magical door appeared in front of him. Agathe silently encouraged him to go through the door and Ben did. On the other side of the door was an expansive empty chamber ready to be filled with whatever Ben wanted. “This is all yours,” Agathe said. “I created this chamber to give you whatever you request to be in here. You just have to call on the Force and it will be done. Go ahead. Try it.” Ben thought for a moment then closed his eyes making his wish. Suddenly the chamber started to fill itself with different pieces of furniture, a workout area, a scientific lab wit many computers, and, to the shock of himself, the Millennium Falcon, just as he remembered it. He could hear his dad in his head cheering at the top of his lungs about the Millennium Falcon returning along with Chewbacca roaring with excitement. Agathe stared at the ship and asked, “What is that contraption?” “My dad’s spaceship,” Ben said. “I’m surprised I thought of that given the fact that I tried so hard to shoot that ship out of the sky when I was Kylo Ren. 

“Greetings, strangers,” Ben tensed at the voice and turned to see C-3PO standing a few feet away with R2-D2 by his said beeping away. “I am not sure how we got to this place, but we are here to help. I am C…” “3PO?” Ben finished. “And R2-D2. I haven’t seen you two in a long time. I didn’t realize that I wanted this many parts of my old life back. I thought only inanimate objects could be all this room could give me. I guess robots and androids count. I know you two don’t recognize me, but I’m Ben.” “Master Ben?” C-3PO asked. “Master Han and Mistress Leia’s boy? But you can’t be. He looked entirely different and became Kylo Ren.” “It’s a long story, 3PO,” Ben said. “But I am Master Ben. R2 seems to recognize me.” R2-D2 was a little tense at first, but then zoomed forward and warmly greeted the young prince with a few beeps. 

“So,” Agathe said. “You wished for things that remind you of your old life, I see.” “I guess so,” Ben said. “I wanted to remind myself of who I was, both good and bad. It is a part of me whether I like it or not. I may be Prince Ben of Auradon now, but I also am Ben Solo and Kylo Ren. I need to embrace everything that I am. Plus, sometimes I have wished to have some things that I did back in my first life. Some of the things of this world are still puzzling to me. Like why aren’t there any spaceships?” Agathe laughed and said, “I guess your past seemed more futuristic than the future actually is. It amuses me. So do you like it?” “I love it,” Ben said. “Thank you, Agathe. I will cherish this always.” “I am glad,” Agathe said. “You can always expand it whenever you want to. Now, it is getting late. You need to get back to bed and get some sleep.” Ben nodded and Ben waved goodbyes to the two robots and walked through the door with Agathe back to his room, the door disappearing after they walked through. 

Ben turned to Agathe and said, “So I guess tomorrow I will give that contract back to my parents and pretend to go through this betrothal with Audrey. But I don’t want to have a big public announcement. I saw what Audrey’s family said and why they are pushing this. And I saw what is happening on the Isle of the Lost. I want to be in charge of my future. Starting with how this contract will be handled. I want to do this under my own terms, without anyone figuring out what my plans are, but I don’t know how. Do you have any suggestions?” Agathe smirked and said, “I may have an idea or two…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that these past few chapters have taken place over a couple of days. Don't worry. The next couple of chapters after this will pick things up and go through the years more quickly which will lead up to the beginning of the first Descendants movie so the core 4, Mal especially, can finally be fully part of this story instead of just in visions. Hope you enjoyed the new chapter. Leave a comment or kudos!


	5. Ben's Own Terms and Return of an Old Friend, Sort Of

Ben walked down to his father’s study the next morning, betrothal contract in hand, wearing another nice set of clothes that Padme picked out for him. He came to the door and knocked on it. “Come in,” his father shouted and Ben opened the door and walked in to take a seat across from his parents. He put the contract on the table and slid it across saying, “Here is the contract back. As you can see I have not damaged it in any way and I did not attempt to change anything about it.” His parents nodded as Ben continued, “I officially accept this betrothal.” His parents smiled but then Ben said, “With two conditions.” 

“What conditions?” Belle asked before Adam could answer, as Belle could see the anger start to build up in his eyes. “First,” Been said. “I want to start sitting in on council meetings. If I am going to become king one day, then I need to start taking on some royal responsibilities.” That seemed to calm Adam down a bit as Ben continued, “And second, I don’t want to have a public announcement about the betrothal.” “What?” Adam shouted, and Belle tried to calm him down as Ben continued, “Let me finish, Dad. I am not saying that we shouldn’t at all. I only want to announce it to the council. And I feel we should wait to announce it to the public until we are engaged. I feel a public announcement this early isn’t in thee best interest of Audrey or myself since we haven’t developed our image yet. Right now, Auradon just thinks we’re spoiled royals who can’t do anything yet. Dad, don’t start arguing back, I know there are those who don’t think that, but I know there are those that do. I want to prove to those who don’t believe in me that I can be a suitable prince, by proving to them that I am better than what they think of me, and I want to give the same opportunity to Audrey. And I think by the time Audrey and I are engaged, there will be more rejoicing than skepticism. Plus we need to show that we are adapting to modern times about our traditions as I know some are very against arranged marriages. So, do the both of you agree with this logic?” 

Adam and Belle stared at their son in amazement. Here was their 7 year old son talking like someone 4 to 5 times his age. They thought about what Ben said and realized that he had a point about announcing the betrothal this early. They were trying to become more modern with the traditions that royal families of the past were too strict on and Ben did need to shape his public image. Adam looked at Ben and said, “We agree, Ben. Waiting until your engagement at 18 after you prove your worth is the right call. We’ll just announce this to the council. And I agree that soon you should start sitting in on meetings. I don’t know how Audrey’s family will react to this, but this is your future so you should have some say in it.” Belle smiled and said, “Oh, Ben. You’re growing up so fast.” Ben smiled and said, “This situation just opened my eyes about my destiny of the throne of Auradon. I need to start taking this seriously. Now, is there anything else you two wanted to discuss with me?” Adam shook his head and said, “Your mother and I will get the council together and have a private meeting with the royal family of Auroria beforehand. You can do whatever you want for the rest of the day.” Ben smiled ands stood up, bowing to his parents. He turned to walk away but Adam said, “Son. I am very proud of you for thinking this through and showing that you want to be ready for the throne. Shows you for the prince you are.” Ben looked back and smiled saying, “Thanks, Dad.” “Now go ahead and have some fun today,” Belle said. “You deserve a break.” Ben nodded and walked out of his father’s study.

Ben got to his room and locked the door. He focused his Force powers onto the necklace he wore and the door to his secret room appeared. Grinning, he entered it and Agathe was waiting and all the Force spirits appeared around Ben and Agathe. “So,” Agathe said. “How did it go?” “Pretty well, actually,” Ben said. “He’s not giving himself enough credit,” Leia said. “He acted professional and didn't show any signs of anger at all. Very well done.” “Hey,” Padme added. “He does have people in his family who know how to do political talk. I knew he could do it.” “Man,” Han said. “I was sure King Adam was going to blow a gasket at one point with all that anger he was struggling to hold on to.” Chewie roared in agreement as Luke said, “I guess that’s why Queen Belle is his true love. She keeps him calm and reigns him in before he makes a fool of himself.” “Convince your parents well, you did,” Yoda said. “We didn’t have to use any persuasion tricks on them,” Obi-Wan said. “All of your suggestions worked, Agathe,” Anakin said. 

Agathe smirked and said, “I thought they would. With you sitting in on more council meetings, you can have better access to knowing what’s going on in Auradon and figure out how to help the Isle and magical folk without anyone realizing it.” “I do want to try to get better rations to the Isle,” Ben agreed. “And figure out who exactly is against the no magic policy and try to win them to my side after I become king. Along with locating those who might have gone into hiding about it.” Agathe nodded and said, “Also pushing back the announcement of the betrothal will give you time to bring Mal over here and work on your relationship with her before the deadline ends.” “But people will still know about it,” Ben argued. “I know some members of the council will tell others outside of it.” “True,” Agathe countered. “But this way it will appear less set in stone. And I did tell you that there are those fin Auradon who are against arranged marriages which will make the faith in your future people have not good. Plus like I had you say, you need to build up your image as the next king to show that you are going to be the savior this world needs and bring balance back. You and Mal.” “But at least I was nice enough to give Audrey the same chance,” Ben said. “Even though I don’t like her, I want her to become better than what her family is trying to make her.” “You seem to have a very caring heart,” Agathe said. “Maybe,” Ben said. “But there are still some things I would like to do to Audrey that she deserves. I do have several torture techniques that I used when I was Kylo Ren.” “Ben!” Leia scolded. “Kidding,” Ben said. “But just because I turned away from the dark side doesn’t mean I got rid of all of it. I have a balance of both light and dark in me. A grey area as one would call it.”

Agathe nodded in agreement and said, “Well, I must be off. There are things I need to do, along with you. But I do need to take something with me for the next phase of this destiny plan.” “Which is?” Ben said. Agathe walked over to Chewbacca and said, “I need this one to come with me.” Chewie roared in confusion as Agathe said, “Don’t worry. You will return here later. Just not in the same way you are leaving. Trust me, this is for Ben’s sake. Think of that.” Chewie nodded and roared his goodbye to Ben and the other Force spirits. Then he and Agathe disappeared. “Should I be worried about what that witch is going to do to him?” Han asked. “Just have faith,” Luke said. “Now, grandson,” Anakin said. “Time for some training. Are you ready?” Ben nodded and said, “Boy am I ever!” 

The next day, Ben was in his father’s study along with his mother. Sitting across from them was Audrey, King Phillip, Queen Aurora, and Queen Leah. Adam had just told the royal family of Auroria the new conditions of the betrothal contract and they weren’t entirely happy about it to say the least. “Just the council is to know?” Phillip said. “You were perfectly fine with announcing it to everyone present a few days ago.” “This is preposterous!” Queen Leah argued. “My late husband and I announced Phillip and Aurora’s betrothal to the public and everyone rejoiced. Why can’t we do the same here?” “The public announcement is just being delayed until they are engaged at the age of 18,” Belle retorted. “Times have changed, Queen Leah. Not everyone agrees with arranged marriages. Plus it will give Ben and Audrey time to develop their image to the public.” “Which I agree with,” Aurora said. “My little princess needs to show everyone that she is the perfect choice to be the next Queen of Auradon.” Ben internally rolled his eyes at this statement.

Phillip then asked, “Did you come up with this, Adam?” The king of Auradon smirked and said, “Actually, these conditions were Ben’s idea. And myself and my wife agree with him.” Audrey stared at Ben, who realized that she was holding back from trying to glare at him, along with her grandmother. Ben then said, “I was told about the betrothal two days after my birthday. I felt it was not fair for just myself to not know about it. This is my future we are talking about. I looked over the contract myself and didn’t change anything, so you can relax about that. All I am saying is that we need to show Auradon that we are adapting to the modern times. And to give Audrey and I a chance to show that we are worthy of being the next rulers of Auradon. By the time we are 18 and become officially engaged, Auradon will have more faith in us. Right now, they just see us as kids, not the next rulers of Auradon. Plus sitting in on more council meetings will help us learn.” That seemed to calm Audrey and her grandmother a bit with Aurora nodding in agreement and Phillip saying, “I understand, Prince Ben. We apologize for not letting you know about this sooner. We were just excited about the joining of our two families. And giving Audrey a chance to prove herself to the kingdom is a great idea. Right, sweetheart?” Audrey put on a fake smile and nodded, which Ben saw right through as her thoughts about not getting the spotlight from everyone were loud and clear thanks to his Force powers. 

Adam stood up and said, “Come. The council is waiting for us.” Everyone stood up and the adults walked out first with Ben and Audrey waiting behind them. Ben looked and Audrey and whispered, “What’s wrong? You don’t agree with this?” Audrey glared at him for a minute, then smiled and whispered, “Of course not, Your Highness. I am just glad you are giving me a chance at proving myself. And I am looking forward to spending time with you so we can get to know each other more. Aren’t you?” Ben contained a groan and whispered, “Of course, Audrey.” “It’s Princess Audrey, or Your Highness,” Audrey retorted. “We’re of the same rank,” Ben whispered. “Whatever,” Audrey said as she walked ahead to be with her family. Ben groaned as he could hear some of the Force spirits in his head snickering at the conversation he just had. He walked ahead to catch up with his parents.

The council meeting went rather well in Ben’s opinion, even though this was the first meeting he ever sat in. When his father announced the betrothal, Ben could immediately tell who was for it, mainly those who were of royal blood, and who was skeptical about it, mainly those who were not of royal blood. There were some who were skeptical about him and Audrey starting to sit in the meetings but Adam made his arguments and that shut everyone up. Ben looked over at Audrey sitting with her family and she was wearing her fake smile as always. “I can’t believe I have to put up with her until I get Mal over here,” Ben thought. “But it will be worth the wait.”

Over the next few months, Ben’s life started to get more busy for a 7 year old. Between bi-monthly visits with Audrey, starting to sit in on council meetings (although his father only has him sit in them once a month), and Force training, Ben had a lot on his plate. He was getting better at meditating and finding things through the Force, his telekinesis has gotten better to where her can stop things midair again like he used to do, and his saber fighting is slowly getting back to where he was in his first life. The Force spirits felt that soon he should be able to make a new lightsaber for himself. Ben was beginning to wonder about Chewbacca since it’s been months since Agathe took Chewie’s spirit with her and had received no word from the Enchantress. The other Force spirits told him not to worry as Agathe has a plan.

One day in late February, a little more than six months after Ben’s birthday, Ben was outside in the rose garden with Audrey. She was there for one of their scheduled meetings to get to know each other more. Ben could tell that Audrey did not like being outside in the cold and that she didn’t like to talk about personal stuff. She just kept up the princess act while Ben was more down to earth, which at times Audrey didn’t appreciate. Ben stood at the edge of the garden looking out at the forest, wishing that Agathe would magically appear and take him away from this meeting with Audrey. 

Speaking of which, Audrey walked up to him and asked, “What are you looking at?” Ben turned to her and said, “Just looking out at the forest. It holds a lot of memories.” “The same one you got lost in during your birthday party?” Audrey asked. “Well, you should be more careful next time. Maybe when the weather gets nicer, on Fairy Godmother Day, we can go to the Fairy Cottage in the forest near my kingdom. Just the two of us.” 

Before Ben could reply, the two royals heard a noise come from the forest. They looked over and saw a dark figure standing at its edge. In a deep voice it said, “What have we here? Two royals out here all alone. You two would be great to hold for ransom.” Audrey screamed while Ben got in front of her to protect her. Sure he didn’t like her, but he still wanted to protect her from this dark figure, who started to walk towards them when all of a sudden, they all heard something growl loudly. They turned to the source of the growl and saw a big dog, a leonberger to be precise, standing there growling at the dark figure. The dark figure started to run towards the royals, which made Audrey scream again, but then the dog charged in and put itself between the royals and thee dark figure, who growled and tried to reach the prince and princess, but the dog bit the figure on the arm, causing the figure to scream in pain. The figure backed up trying to get the dog off of him and shook it until the figure swung the dog off, with the dog landing on the ground hard. 

Suddenly palace guards charged in, causing the dark figure to retreat to the forest. The guards escorted Audrey back to the castle and tried to do the same to Ben, but Ben broke free saying, “That dog! He protected us! He’s hurt!” Ben ran and knelt to the ground next to the dog, who was whimpering in pain. Ben started to cry and said, “Thank you. You saved us.” He put his head on the dog’s head, and Ben felt a familiar presence through the Force and whispered, “Chewbacca?” The dog nodded its head as Ben hugged the dog as Adam and Belle ran up to him and Adam said, “Ben! Get away from that dog.” “No!” Ben shouted. “He protected us from that scary man! He’s a hero. But he’s hurt. We need to help him. Please!” Adam looked unsure, but Belle said, “Alright, Ben. Let’s get him and you back to the castle.” Ben nodded as a guard came up and picked the dog up and everyone walked back to the castle.

Later that night, after Audrey left, Ben was sitting on his bed with the dog lying at the foot of the bed. Adam and Belle came into the room as Adam commented, “I was wondering where that dog went. He must have escaped from the room the vet had him in.” “I guess he wanted to be near you,” Belle said. “Wanted to make sure you were OK. He’s smart.” “Yes, he is,” Ben said. “And I’ve named him Chewbacca.” “Chewbacca?” Adam asked. Ben nodded and said, “Yep. Or Chewie for short. Because he chewed that bad man’s arm and has a loud bark. So Chewbacca. Can I keep him? Please?” Adam and Belle looked at each other, then Adam said, “Alright. He did save your and Audrey’s life today. And he seems to like you a lot. Maybe he can be your personal protector.” Ben smiled and got out of bed and ran over and hugged his parents. “Thank you!” Belle chuckled and said, “You’re welcome. Now it’s time for bed. I would try to have Chewbacca move but I think he wants to be here with you. Now good night.” “Good night!” Ben shouted as he climbed back into bed and his parents left the room.

Ben slipped out from the covers and crawled to Chewie and gave him a big hug. “I can’t believe it’s you, Chewie,” Ben said. “This was Agathe’s plan?” “Indeed, young prince,” Agathe suddenly appeared in Ben’s room. “I had a feeling that Chewbacca wanted to help you but he’s more of a physical being so I took his spirit and did a spell that gave him new life. Sort of. His new form is a dog.” “Are you sure he likes that?” Ben asked looking at Chewie, who barked once meaning “Yes,” then whimpered meaning, “Kind of.” Ben giggled as Agathe continued, “I did add something to the spell that Chewie will appreciate. Chewbacca, come here for a minute.” Chewie jumped off the bed and walked up to Agathe, who said, “Dog to Wookiee.” Suddenly Chewie’s form shifted from a dog to the Wookie he was always known as. Ben smiled and jumped off the bed and hugged Chewbacca who returned it. The Wookie growled softly as Agathe said, “You can shift him between the two forms, but only in emergencies. He is your protector in more of a physical sense.” 

“Wait,” Ben realized. “That dark figure from earlier. That was you?” Agathe nodded as she shifted her form to the dark figure, then back and said, “Of course. I had to think of someway to get Chewie into your family’s good graces. But he did bite my arm a little hard.” Chewie moaned a apology as Agathe giggled and said, “It’s alright. I heal quickly. Now, I must go. I will see you soon, young Skywalker.” She disappeared as Ben tested, “Wookiee to dog.” Chewie turned back into a dog and the two jumped back into bed. “It’s good to have you back, Chewie,” Ben said. “It’s going to be a long road ahead of me. Hopefully the time will pass quickly and soon I can have Rey….Mal with me again. Anyway, good night Chewie.” Ben fell asleep soon after, dreaming about Mal over on the Isle of the Lost, wishing that he would see her soon.


	6. Span of a Decade

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking a little while on this chapter. I wanted to get in a lot of things before I start the events of the first Descendants movie. As the title suggests, I will be covering several things that happened in the nine to ten year span between chapter 5 and the net chapter, which will start Descendants 1. When you see a big gap with dots covering a line, that means a gap in time or a different event. Hopefully that makes sense to everyone. 
> 
> Also the song that Ben sings (yes there will be songs in this story like in the movies) is from Rodger's and Hammerstein's Cinderella called Loneliness of Evening, which I found fitting for Ben. I do not own this song, btw.
> 
> Anyway, thanks to everyone giving me kudos for this story and I hope you all enjoy. See you next chapter for Descendants 1!

The next nine to ten years flew by for Ben. His elementary years went smoothly as Ben grew up. Though he was forced to hang out with Audrey every now and then, he still enjoyed time with what he considered as his “real” friends, mainly Doug, Jane, and Lonnie. Audrey and her cliche of friends would scoff at that, but Ben didn’t care. He was just happy that he had friends at all compared to his original life. Even though the news of his betrothal to Audrey spread through the school and Ben knew that Audrey had something to do with it, Ben’s friends supported him through anything, since they weren’t fans of the princess. Ben’s middle school experience was a little awkward because that’s when school dances started and he was forced to go with Audrey. His personal friend group remained strong, even though Ben’s parents were pushing him into sports so he could make friends with the other princes, and Ben had no interest in sports but had no choice in the matter. He excelled at both Tourney and especially Swords and Shields. He was made captain of both by the time he entered high school at Auradon Prep. Jane was starting to become self conscious of herself as she felt different to the other girls. Lonnie tried to tell her that she was fine the way she was, but Jane still had doubts. Ben and Doug tried to help as well but they weren't girls so they couldn't relate.

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Having Chewie around in a more physical sense was great for Ben to say the least. Sure it took Chewie a while to get used to being a dog, but he really didn’t have much of a choice. Ben always tried to get him outside to get exercise and train. He did become more of a guard dog as Chewie was very protective of Ben. He could sense if Ben was becoming distressed or upset and would step in to either cheer up Ben or make whoever was making Ben upset back off. His main target was always Audrey, to the point that whenever Audrey came over for a meeting with Ben, Chewie had to be locked in Ben’s room. But the dog would always find a way to sneak out to keep an eye on the young prince. When Ben went to Auradon Prep, because it was a boarding school, Ben had to be away from the castle but was allowed to bring Chewie with him. There was a campus mutt named Dude that wandered around and always wanted to play with Chewie. Ben found it amusing because Dude was a lot smaller compared to Chewie but Chewie eventually relented and hung out with Dude so he wouldn’t get bored when Ben was in classes, even started protecting the little dog himself.

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Fully adjusting to this world was interesting to say the least. Sure he had seven years before his memories returned where he was fine with everything of this world, he was just a kid after all, but when he was reawakened, he had to readjust to everything and see this world for what it was. There were things he was familiar with like cellphones, the Internet, and computers, since those were somewhat similar to what he had in his original life. But there were other things that Ben found confusing. One, the vehicles weren’t high tech like he was used to, heck the Millennium Falcon that was hiding away in his secret room was the most high tech vehicle he’d seen in this entire place and that spaceship was still a piece of junk, although Han and Chewie thought otherwise. The other weird thing was that sometimes people would just break out into song for no apparent reason, at least according to him. Sometimes it was just one or two people singing about what was on their minds, but there were one or two occurrences where he saw a big dance break out, then afterwards people went on their merry ways. He asked Agathe about it, who giggled and said, “It’s just something that happens in this world from time to time. It’s normal for everyone here. You just find it odd because your spirit is not of this world. I promise you, one day, you will have a song in your heart that will come out, whether you want it to or not. You’ll get use to it.” Ben scoffed at the idea that he would ever do that, but Agathe just replied, “You never know. One day, you’ll surprise yourself.” 

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As Ben got older, he sat in on more and more council meetings. Most of the members were still skeptical of having the young prince sit in on them. Audrey sat in some of them, but she rarely paid attention to them. Ben always paid attention to them because he did want to become a good king in the future, but also because he needed information that would help him with his grand plan of bringing magic and balance back to Auradon. Whenever the Isle of the Lost came up, Ben secretly took notes, mainly about the security and how foods and other goods were transported to the Isle, so that he could figure out a plan to help the children of the Isle before he could get them off of it. He did secretly create a system that would give better goods and not rotten food to the Isle once a month. He couldn’t fully take over the process as he wasn’t king yet and he didn’t want to raise suspicion so he could only sneak those better quality things to the cargo boats one time a month even though the cargo boats went over to the Isle once a week. Agathe told him that he was doing enough for now and when he became king, giving better goods every week to the Isle would be one of his top priorities. 

When Ben was 16, his father let him lead one of the council meetings, with this one in particular focusing on the Council of Sidekicks, a sub division of the council that was made up of all the sidekicks of Auradon. King Adam had a lot of confidence that Ben would do great and make him proud while Queen Belle advised her son to just be his own king, not what his father wanted him to be. On the day of the meeting, Ben sat at the head of a huge table with all the sidekicks along the edges: the seven dwarves, Cinderella’s mice, some of the 101 Dalmatians, Flounder, Ariel’s sisters, Flora, Fauna, Merryweather, and Genie, who because of the ban on magic had to take a physical human form. The fairies and Genie in particular interested Ben as Agathe told him that those magical beings secretly opposed King Adam’s ban of magic and tried for many years to lift it but to no avail so Ben knew that they would be on his side immediately. The animals were an interesting sight to Ben but he had seen stranger things in different galaxies. He did have an ear piece in his ear for translation, but he secretly didn’t need it as his mental skills with the Force did the translating for him. 

Ben wanted to get the meeting started but the sidekicks were shouting at each other either from laughing at a conversation or arguing, which mainly happened with Grumpy as right now he was complaining about the food selection. Ben sat there for a bit observing the group. He wasn’t nervous at all; when he was Supreme Leader, he knew how to command a room. But he knew he would need to tone it down, especially since he knew from listening in to their thoughts that they just saw him as a 16 year old kid. Finally done with waiting, Ben stood up and shouted, “Your attention, please!” All the sidekicks stopped talking and turned to Ben. “Thank you. Now to begin…” “Shouldn’t we wait for your dad, kid?” Genie asked. “Yeah. Where’s King Adam?” Flounder asked. “My father isn’t here today,” Ben answered. “I am leading this meeting today, regarding the Sidekicks Act and the petitions that all of you plus more have signed.” “Are you turning all of it down?” Grumpy asked bitterly. Ben looked at Grumpy and said, “If you will let see finish, I will give you my answer. Now, I have read the complaints you all have made. All one thousand and one pages of it.” The sidekicks stared at him in disbelief. “All of them?” one of the mermaids asked. Ben nodded and said, “Of course. I am a fast reader and a good listener. Just because I am a king in training doesn’t mean that I don’t take things like this seriously. From what I could gather, it appears what all of you are demanding is to be heard, and to have a voice in the future. Something more than just a seat on the Council. “It’s not too much to ask?” Flora asked. “No, it’s not,” Ben answered. “And I think we can come to a simpler agreement.”

“What do you purpose?” Doc asked. Ben shuffled the papers in front of him and said, “I purpose listening to the people who know best. Let’s start with the mermaids. You all should charge a silver coin for every undersea tour. And I’ll talk to Queen Ariel about giving your collecting, Flounder, for her a break. I’ve also set up a college fund for the Dalmatians, all 101 of them will be eligible for financial aid through the Puppy Grant. Dwarves, half of everything you mine must still remain the property of the kingdom, however the other half will go to a 401D Fund. A retirement fund for dwarves, to take care of your families and your children. So Bashful, you don’t have to worry anymore. For all you woodland creatures who are being overworked, I am going to have a team install dishwashers, washer-dryers, and vacuum cleaners for every household. It’s time that some of these people to realize that we live in modern times now and they can do some of the work themselves. Jaq, Gus, Mary, from now on, all of you will be compensated with the finest cheese in the kingdom for all of your hard work over the years, from the king’s own larders.” All the sidekicks looked at Ben with shock and awe on their faces. “That actually sounds fair,” Grumpy said. “What about us?” Genie asked pointing to himself and the three good fairies. “I will get to your complaints in a second.” He looked to the other sidekicks and asked, “So, do we have a deal?” The other sidekicks looked and each other then Grumpy said, “Deal.” “Thank you,” Ben said. “I will implement all of this after I finish this meeting. Now for those whose complaints I have answered, you are dismissed. For those who I have not yet, please stay a little bit longer.” Ben secretly put a mental suggestion with some help from the Force spirits to the non-magical sidekicks so that they would leave without question and the sidekicks stood up, with some helping push the tubs of water containing the mermaids and Flounder, and left.

Ben took a deep breath and turned to the former magic users in the room and said, “I know that the ban on magic has been tough on all of you. I have read that you all want the ban on magic lifted in some way. Unfortunately as of now, I cannot grant that request. But I promise all of you, when I become king, that ban is one of my top priorities to have changed.” “You are against the ban as well?” Fauna asked. Ben nodded and said, “Believe it or not, I have seen what the ban of magic has done to this world. So I plan to bring it back. Not all at once mind you since most of the population have gotten use to no magic. It will be a slow implement, but it will happen, I can promise you that.” “Why hasn’t the king or queen told us this?” Merryweather asked. “Because they don’t know of my intentions,” Ben answered. “Which is why I must ask all of you to keep this information to yourselves at this moment. If my parents find out, then they and the rest of the council who are anti-magic may put harder restrictions on the ban and I don’t want to do that. I know that you all want to travel and use your magic again, and I agree. But lifting the ban won’t be as easy as making it. So please, don’t tell anyone about this. What is said right now between us STAYS between us. Do we have a deal?” The magical beings looked at each other as Ben scanned their minds to see if they would go against his wishes and tell people, mainly Ben was afraid of the three good fairies telling Audrey’s family, but luckily all of them agreed with him as Genie said, “You have a deal, kid.” Ben smiled and said, “Thank you. We will meet again a few months after my coronation to discuss this further. Now I must end this meeting before anyone outside gets suspicious. Good day.” The fairies and Genie rose and left the room. Ben leaned back in his chair as Luke appeared next to him and said, “They will keep this secret. And none of us had to put mental suggestions in their heads.” “True,” Ben said. “I am glad to see that there will be some magical beings on my side after I become king in less than a year.”

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Ben still dreamed of Mal most nights. He saw how she played a prank on Uma, Ursula’s daughter, by making the girl fall into a bin of rotten shrimp, hence why people started to call her Shrimpy. Ben saw the sneer on Mal’s face as she looked down on the poor girl, but when Mal turned away, he saw her face soften as if she felt guilty about doing it, but knew that she had to do it in order to survive on the Isle. He saw how many times Mal tried to impress her mother with her deeds but Maleficent never batted an eye. Those dreams would end with Mal sitting in her windowsill and crying at her failure as well as feeling horrible for doing bad deeds to try to impress her mother but also for trying to hide the light that was within her. Ben’s heart went out to her and he wished he could hold her in his arms and comfort her. But all he could do was watch in his dreams.

There was one dream that he started to have when he turned 15 that was always recurring. He dreamed he was at the Enchanted Lake and Mal was there wearing a pretty dress and giggling. “Are those little crowns on your swim trunks?” Mal asked. Ben looked down and saw that he was wearing his swim shorts and looked back up at Mal who was looking at him with a loving look on her face. Ben tried to reach out to her, but then he always woke up. He groaned, yearning for that dream to one day become a reality where Mal was here in Auradon with him. 

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Through the training from the Force spirits, Ben got stronger with the Force. He had telepathy, telekinesis, agility, strength, healing, and marksmanship, the last one mainly thanks to Han and Chewie, who Ben would change back into a Wookie during training, teaching him blaster and crossbow skills. Thanks to the Force evolving, Ben’s powers have expanded. Ben could control his telepathy to a point where Ben can actually make himself fly. He perfected his Force healing so that he didn’t waste all of his life-force like last time.

When Ben was nine, he felt it was time to construct a new lightsaber from the new Kyber crystal he was given. “I’ve trained for two years at this point,” Ben said. “I want to have a lightsaber again.” The Force spirits thought about it and Luke said, “Alright. Have this room summon the materials you need and start the process.” Ben nodded and had the materials appear in front of him and he pulled out his Kyber crystal from his necklace. He sat on the floor and closed his eyes. He focused his mind on what he wanted his lightsaber to look like and as he was meditating, the pieces in front of him rose from the floor and gathered around the Kyber crystal until a lightsaber was forged. Ben opened his eyes and saw the lightsaber in front of him. He picked it up and looked at it. It was a sleek silver design, looking somewhat similar to his grandfather’s saber. He took a deep breath and pressed the button, wanting to see what color his saber would be. He didn’t want it to be red again. The lightsaber ignited and a purple light shined out of it. Ben started to cry along with some of the Force spirits that gathered around him. “A fitting color,” Anakin said. “Master Mace Windu’s lightsaber was that same color,” Obi-Wan noted. “It means you have balance between light and dark,” Yoda said. “You should be very proud of yourself, Ben,” Luke said. “As we all are,” Leia said. 

Now that Ben had his lightsaber, he could really practice his techniques so by the time he entered Auradon Prep, he was past the peak he was at in his previous life. Hence why he preferred Swords and Shields compared to Tourney, being the best swordsman on the team, given his secret lightsaber skills that he perfected over the years. He had to be careful to not show his Force strength and agility since that would make people suspicious of him. Also he couldn't go full force on his teammates or when playing other teams so that he wouldn’t draw too much attention onto himself. 

But one of the biggest surprises during his Force training was astral projection. The Force spirits told him about it when he was 10 where Ben said, “I thought the process would kill someone. Like Uncle Luke when he astral projected his spirit to Crait to help the Resistance get away.” “True,” Luke answered. “But the Force has evolved. Plus the magic of this world along with the Force can help sustain your body while you do it. So, let’s get started. Lay down on your back and close your eyes.” Ben did so as Yoda said, “Take deep breaths. And focus on what you want to do.” Ben concentrated and suddenly he felt lighter than before. “Now, open your eyes,” Obi-Wan said. Ben did and noticed he was standing up looking at the Force spirits. “Hello, grandson,” Anakin said as he made the secret room summon a floor length mirror which made Ben gasp. Staring him in the face was his original self, Ben Solo, dressed the same way he was before he was reborn. Shoulder length black hair, big ears and nose, brown eyes, very tall, and dressed in black rags. “It’s me,” Ben whispered. “The original me.” “Well,” Leia said. “This is your spirit. Your vessel is still lying on the floor behind you.” Ben turned around and gasped, seeing his new body lying on the floor, looking like he was sleeping. “Don’t freak out too much, kid,” Han said. “You’ll get use to it.” “And,” Padme added. “You can change what you’re wearing. Try it.” Ben did, changing his form into his Kylo Ren garb with helmet, without helmet, and Jedi robes, before deciding on his Kylo Ren outfit, but dark gray instead of black. “Interesting choice,” Luke commented. “I am Ben Solo,” Ben said. “But I was also Kylo Ren. This form shows that I am both, whether I like it or not.” “Very good,” Anakin said. “Now don’t stay out of your body for too long. It will drain you. And you can control your visibility as well. Now, time for some training.” 

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Astral projection became a go to skill that Ben perfected over the years. He got so good in fact that he did it in his sleep, literally. While his body slept, his spirit would journey around Auradon seeing the kingdom for what it was. By the time Ben was 13, he could astral project his spirit whether he was in meditation or sleeping. He tried to balance what time of day and how often he would do astral projection and where he would go. But the place he frequented the most was the Isle of the Lost. He waited until his Force powers were strong enough to break through the magical shield and he knew he couldn’t be there for a long time as once he was on the Isle, he only had a limited amount of power as the shield blocked out most of the Force. He kept himself invisible for most of the time as he wanted to collect intel on what happens on the Isle. He would always first check to see the cargo that would come in from Auradon and make sure that his secret system was working for the one time a month it happened and that it was mostly equally distributed to everyone on the Isle. If not, he would use that time to sneak into homes that took too much and gave the extras to those who needed them. All of the major villains were slightly crazy, mainly because they were there the longest. Maleficent was just as crazy as he had seen in his dreams of Mal and he could see why Audrey and her family were terrified of the dark fairy. But there was only one villain that he avoided after seeing once was Hades, Mal’s father. Ben was silently walking through some of thee alleys when he saw Hades in the shadows, looking up at a building. Ben looked up and saw that Hades was looking at Mal’s home. Ben remembered from his dreams of Mal that Hades left when Mal was still a baby and how much that affected the purple haired girl. But when Ben looked at Hades, he didn’t see a man of hatred. Instead he saw a father with a sad look in his eyes, the same look that he had seen in his father, a look of guilt and regret. Ben tried to get around the God of Death when Hades tensed up and turned to Ben’s direction. Even though Ben was still invisible, Hades was looking right at him. Ben felt like his spirit was being pulled toward the god and started to feel weak. But suddenly Hades turned and walked away, causing Ben to regain his strength. Ben knew that somehow Hades could see him and that he could affect his spirit similar to how Agathe could. “I should avoid him from now on,” Ben muttered.

When Ben first started using astral projection to go to the Isle, he just observed and never interfered. That all changed one day when he saw a young boy get beat up by some of Gaston’s sons, with Mal and a boy named Jay, who both were around his age of 15 were walking nearby, avoiding the fight. Ben couldn’t take it anymore; luckily because it was nighttime his dark clothes could blend in making the dark gray look black. He made himself visible and Force pushed the bullies far away from the young boy, right to Mal and Jay’s feet. The two teens looked up and saw a glimpse of the shadowy figure that was Ben Solo, wearing his helmet and dark cloak. Ben decided to use the voice modulator to hide his voice and said to the bullies, “This is your only warning. If I find you here again, you will suffer the consequences.” Then he disappeared from view. Gaston’s sons got up and ran away while the young boy looked around for his savior and said, “He saved me. Like a guardian.” Mal and Jay looked at each other as Jay said, “That guy did look intimidating.” “A guardian, huh?” Mal said. “He doesn’t scare me.” But Ben, who was still standing there looking at the teens, knew that wasn’t true. He could feel a little fear coming off of Mal, but she was doing a good job to hide it. Ben tried to dig deeper into her mind to see her thoughts, but Mal shook her head and said to Jay, “Let’s get out of here.” The teens left as Ben chuckled to himself and said, “Well, well. She’s subconsciously blocking me, just like she use to. I guess my scavenger is getting the Force more than she realizes. I can’t see if she has been getting any of her memories back through dreams like I did. Maybe the Force doesn’t want me to know.” He then concentrated and left the Isle, merging back to his body in Auradon.

Ben’s little intervention with the Gaston boys spread like wildfire through the Isle. Some scoffed at it. Some took it as a sign that maybe there was a guardian of the Isle. Ben chuckled to himself at the nickname the Isle gave him. He was still careful on how much people saw him, but he decided that helping from time to time was a good thing. He stopped major bullying, harassments, and the occasional thieving when he felt it wasn’t right. Through this, he learned about the children of the Isle, some of them included Uma, daughter of Ursula and the one Mal pranked years ago, Harry, son of Captain Hook and who always wore a fake hook eleven though he didn’t need to, Gill, another son of Gaston, Dizzy, granddaughter of Lady Tremaine, and so many more. But there were four in particular that he spent the most time watching, Mal of course, Evie, daughter of Evil Queen and the one who was banished on the other side of the Isle until she turned 16, Carlos, son of Cruella De Vil, and Jay, son of Jafar. He learned all about those four and kept a secret file of them back inn Auradon. He secretly gave Carlos a blanket that the boy could hide from his mother and still sleep warm in her coat closet. These four, especially Mal, seemed special to him. 

Right before Ben’s and Mal’s 17th birthday seemed to be the time that the special four came together as friends. During one of Ben’s nightly visits, he found them at a party that Carlos was reluctantly hosting at his house and saw Mal trap Evie in Cruella’s closet with the bear traps. Invisibly, he made his way to Carlos and mentally ushered him to go save the blue haired princess, knowing that Carlos felt fear for the girl. After he made sure that Carlos got Evie out, he made his way outside by floating through the house and into a nearby alley, looking up at the house. He saw Mal come out with a distressed look on her face, Ben knowing that she was upset that her revenge on Evie failed. Mal passed through the alley Ben was in, but then stopped, seeming to feel Ben’s presence. She turned around and stared in the direction that Ben was in. “Can she see me somehow?” Ben wondered. He saw Mal visibly shiver and whisper, “It can’t be. Just the drinks getting to me.” She then turned and walked away. “I need to talk to Agathe about this,” Ben thought when suddenly a beam of light shot out from Carlo’s backyard and into the sky, hitting the magical shield. “Well, that’s another thing to bring up to Agathe.” Ben focused his powers and disappeared from the Isle.

He did go straight to Agathe after leaving the Isle, and the Enchantress chuckled at his tale and said, “Young Skywalker. I knew this would happen. Although Mal hasn’t regained her memories or Force powers, she still is connected to the Force in a way. As well as you.” Ben looked at Agathe and asked, “Do you think she’s getting some of her memories back as dreams like I did?” Agathe thought for a moment and said, “Don’t entirely know. Remember, the shield surrounding the Isle limits how much of the Force can enter. Thus I can’t tell how much of the Force is with Mal. Now about that beam of light, it seems Carlos’ tinkering has caused a hole to briefly appear in the shield, which let some magic and some of the Force through. I sense that something is about to happen with the four you have been watching so closely. 

When Ben saw Mal next, she along with Evie, Carlos, and Jay were on a quest to receive the Dragon’s Eye, Maleficent’s scepter, from her abandoned castle on the edge of the Isle. “So the hole Carlos caused let some magic in and reignited the dark fairy’s scepter. And that crazy fairy is making these four get it. Let’s see how this goes.” He observed from a distance at all the challenges the four faced, the gargoyle bridge where Carlos had to answer riddles about his mother and Ben learned that Carlos will never be loved by her, the cave that filled with sand where Jay had to say what the golden rule was, the room of mirrors where Evie had to recite the peddler’s disguise spell before the four were hags forever, and finally Maleficent’s throne room where the Dragon’s Eye was. He saw Evie walk up to grab it as he heard Mal’s thoughts of whether she should let Evie be cursed to sleep for a thousand years or save her from it. Ben could sense the light fighting the darkness in her and it was winning. Ben saw Mal rush forward and grab the scepter before Evie could and she fell to the ground asleep. Evie, Carlos, and Jay ran to Mal to try to wake her up as Ben stood a few feet away horrified. “I need to help her!” Ben thought. “I can’t lose her now!” But before she could rush forward, he heard Agathe’s voice saying, “Fear not. She is actually immune to the Dragon’s Curse because of the dragon blood in her from her mother. But you could give her recovery a little push as she will be weak from the ordeal. Give her the strength to come out and stand strong.” 

Ben nodded, staying invisible, and walked over to her avoiding the other three and kneeled down at her head. He hovered one of his hands over her forehead and gave her some of his Force energy to help her push through. He could tell she was starting to awake but needed the energy to recover. While he was helping her, he saw in her head what she was seeing; the day her mother cursed Aurora and felt the pity Mal felt for her mother in that instance. Ben wanted to reach out and touch her to help her feel better as Mal was trying to tell her mother that everything was going to be OK, when Mal turned around and saw the imposing figure of Ben there as she whispered, “It’s you.” Then suddenly both of them were throw out of the dream and Mal woke up, Ben quickly standing and walked back to the shadows. The other three looked relieved that Mal woke up. Mal glanced at her hand noticing that the Dragon’s Eye was gone, but she also looked around the room, for him. For a split second, Mal’s beautiful green eyes found his under the mask before he disappeared from the castle. “What’s wrong?” Evie asked. “I thought I saw…” Mal answered. “Saw what?” Carlos asked. Mal shook her head and said, “Nothing. Let’s get out of here.” “Finally,” Jay said. “I’m getting spooked by this old place. 

Ben arose from his bed when his spirit returned to his body. “I was so close to her,” Ben thought. Chewie was sleeping on his bed and woke up when he feels Ben move and rose his head in concern. Ben sighed and said, “I was with her, Chewie. She was right in front of me. My hands were so close to hers. My heart was pounding 100 miles a minute. And I think she saw me. Well, the intimidating me. Oh, I can’t wait until she’s here with me. Away from that awful place. I wish that time will be soon.” Chewie put his head on Ben’s hand and Ben petted the dog, then laid back down and fell asleep.

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Ben and Audrey’s meetings got more and more frequent, much to Ben’s irritation. He always tried to be a perfect gentleman to her, even when she acted spoiled and rotten. When the two entered middle school, Audrey’s flirting went up drastically as she tried to hold his hand more, cuddle with him, and kiss him on the lips. Ben relented to the first two, but never the third, as he wanted his first kiss to be Mal, who he knew deep down was his true love. So he always redirected the kiss to his cheek, much to Audrey’s irritation. Audrey always threatened to tell her family, but Ben would just mentally suggest to her that there was nothing to worry about. He didn’t want her or either of their families to realize that Ben was trying to make sure that this betrothal broke in the future. As well as keep his Force powers, the fact that his dog was a Wookiee, Force spirits in his head, he secret room he could summon whenever, Agathe, or the fact that he was an ancient Force user reborn in the form of the prince of Auradon a secret. 

One particular meeting with Audrey that made Ben irritated was one right before Ben’s first led meeting with the Council of Sidekicks. The two royals were walking through the rose garden and Ben was trying to discuss the complaints that the sidekicks were making but Audrey was hardly listening to him, rather looking at the roses and letting the occasional bird land on her fingers. Ben knew that Audrey could never be more understanding since again she didn’t really listen to discussions during council meetings. But Ben remembered that Audrey’s life had been charmed from the beginning as the spoiled princess of two doting parents, especially Queen Aurora, who was separated from her own mother, who spoiled Audrey the most, who had to spend her formative years in a fairy foster home, under the threat of a deadly curse, so Aurora said, “My daughter will never know anything but love and beauty and peace and joy.” So because of that, Audrey never really understand that the world wasn’t always cupcakes and rainbows. Like almost everything else in Auradon, Audrey was perfectly sweet, perfectly gentle, and If Ben was honest, perfectly boring. After almost 10 years, their meetings really didn’t help Ben change his mind about the princess. She was just the same spoiled girl that he met many years ago and was betrothed to her, much to his irritation. There were other colors to wear aside from pink and pale turquoise. There were other animals who liked to do things other than coo and cuddle, even though Audrey never liked Chewie, mainly because the dog tried to annoy her to humor Ben. There were other topics to discuss other than gowns and gardens and balls and carriages. But those were all Audrey was, or at least all Audrey appeared to him as, never showing her true self. 

“I don’t even know what those sidekicks are so upset about,” Audrey said. “They’re so adorable, and everyone loves them. Why would they bother with things like wages and hours and, ugh, credit? Those aren’t lovely things at all.” “Not everyone have nice lives like we do,” Ben countered. “Not everyone has castles with servants. Or silk sheets, or breakfast trays, or roses gardens….” “I love rose gardens,” Audrey interrupted. “And I love the ones with topiaries shaped like adorable creatures. The elephants are my favorite. With those cute little trunks. But also the hippos. Such lovely teeth. It’s such a talent, really, to prune a bush into a shape of a hippo. Don’t you think?” Ben sighed, frustrated at where the conversation was going. Audrey wasn’t listening to Ben at all. “Maybe it’s better this way,” Ben thought. “Once I bring Mal over here, then hopefully this betrothal will be over. Audrey doesn’t understand anything about this world and I don’t think she ever will.” He had a slight frown to his face, which Audrey noticed as she took his hand into her nicely manicured one and said, “Don’t worry so much. You’re a prince. I’m a princess. This is the land of Happy Endings, remember? We deserve nothing less than everything our hearts desire. We were born into it.” Ben sighed, knowing that Audrey would always think about herself over those who were less fortunate than her, and she was trying to drag him along with it. 

Audrey then giggled and said, “Come on, silly. I have something to show you. Something perfectly perfect, just like today.” She then pulled him to the center of the garden where a picnic was set up. “Isn’t it amazing?” Audrey said. “I had half of the groundsmen and three cooks working on it all morning. Just for us.” They sat down and ate some of the pastries. It was quiet for a while before Ben decided to try to start up a conversation so that he wasn’t bored and to see if Audrey would come out of her princess shell a little and asked, “Do you ever wonder if there’s more to life than this?” “What could be more than this?” Audrey asked. “Wouldn’t you like to find out?” Ben asked. “You should go explore a little. I’ve gone with my parents to see all of Auradon. I’ve gone on hikes with Chip through forests miles long. Maybe getting out and seeing the world might show you how amazing this world is. Don’t you want to see your own kingdom?” Audrey sighed and asked, “You’re not talking about that awful island, are you?” Ben was surprised that she made that leap but he indulged her and said, “Maybe. Don’t you ever think about it? How weird it would be to live trapped in one place? Under a magical dome?” “Perhaps, darling,” Audrey then looked irritated and replied. “They should have considered that before undertaking a life of evil and villainy, which could only lead to an eternity of punishment.” “What about the children?” Ben asked, getting irritated at Audrey’s tone of voice. “An eternity is a rather long time, especially for those who are there for committing no crime, just being born there. They’re captives, Audrey. They can’t travel everywhere and anywhere like we can.”

“That reminds me,” Audrey said, trying to change the topic. “I told Aziz and Chad we would be visiting them today. Carriage picks us up in an hour.” Ben’s anger started to climb. He didn’t like Audrey changing the subject and he didn’t like Audrey planning his schedule. “Don’t change the subject!” Ben shouted. “All I am asking is you’ve never thought about anyone on that island? Villains or the children?” “No,” Audrey said. “Good riddance. Mother says one of them tried to put here to sleep for 100 years. After she’d already spent her entire childhood in foster care and protective custody! My own mother! And then that same horrible woman turned into a dragon who tried to kill Papa!” Audrey’s temper was showing and Ben had to say that he was impressed to finally see a new side of Audrey. “Her name is Maleficent,” Ben said. “She was the Mistress of Darkness, the most evil fairy who has ever lived.” “Don’t say her name!” Audrey shouted. “She might hear you, and curse you. She takes away everything that you love! You should know better. What about that Enchantress who cursed your father? She wasn’t even caught so she’s out there somewhere, waiting for her revenge.” “You know nothing!” Ben shouted. “That Enchantress taught my father a lesson that he needed to learn. And without her curse, my father would have never met my mother and I wouldn’t be here today! So I am actually grateful of her. And you shouldn’t have to worry. Maleficent is trapped in that dome along with the other villains. Along with all those innocent children!” Ben needed to stop before he lost control as he was about to. So he took a few deep breaths and said, “I know we don’t see eye to eye on everything. But I just want you to understand that everything isn’t the way you think. The sooner you realize that, the better you’ll be. That’s all I am asking.” 

Audrey huffed then calmed down and said, “Fine. I’ll attempt to see your point. Now onto better things. Dance with me, sweet prince.” Ben internally rolled his eyes but bowed and said, “Of course, princess.” They got into a waltz position and suddenly music started to play. Audrey started to sing along to it as Ben recognized it as the song her parents sang many years ago when they met. Audrey made sure Ben knew that fact. As she was singing softly while they were dancing, Ben thought to himself, “I knew in her mind that she thinks this song reflects us as well as her parents. But in all honestly, Ben didn’t know her and she didn’t know him. Even after all of these meetings with each other, they only knew basic stuff about each other. He didn’t know her soul, her dreams, and she didn’t know his. Audrey may have the song she was singing be about him, but this song wasn’t about her for him. Also he knew for sure that he never dreamed of her. The only girl he dreamed about was Mal, with her purple hair and green eyes glittering in the dark, a sly smile of mischief on her lips, and her light she buries within her, showing the person she used to be in their original lives. The music finished as Audrey puckered her lips for a kiss, but like always, Ben just gave her a kiss on the cheek. Audrey opened her eyes and looked irritated, but she put on a fake smile and said, “Come. We have to go meet up with Aziz and Chad.” Ben sighed and decided that he needed some time alone and said using his mental persuasion, “You will go without me and be fine with it. You will say nothing about what has happened here to anyone, only that it was a joyous time.” Audrey nodded before Ben pulled back and Audrey shook her head to clear it. “I’ll see you later,” Audrey said as she walked away. Ben stood there for a few moments before he summoned the door to his secret room and entered it so that he could do some training.

...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Late one night, Ben was sitting on his balcony that connected to his bedroom staring out, looking straight at the Isle with Chewie sitting next to him. Just a few hours ago his 17th birthday party had occurred. Ben’s parents had tried to make it small, but Audrey and her family stepped in and invited more people to it despite Ben’s wishes. “It’s your 17th birthday,” Audrey had argued. “You should be throwing a huge party. Besides, just think about your birthday next year when we will become officially engaged. Isn’t that exciting?” Ben had held down a retort and said nothing but gave a fake smile. On the inside he was screaming. He tried to have some fun at his party but in reality he didn’t. It was like his 7th birthday party all over again. His parents saw the look on Ben’s face throughout the party but his dad thought that Ben was just nervous about his upcoming coronation which was happening in a little over a month. Belle didn’t seem to agree but didn’t say anything. Audrey tried to get Ben to dance with her friends but Ben declined. He was at least lucky that some of his actual friends like Doug, Jane, and Lonnie were there. Eventually he snuck out of his own party and locked himself in his room. He spent some time in his secret room where the Force spirits along with Agathe wished him happy birthday and C-3PO tried to bake him a cake which made Ben chuckle a bit. Eventually he left the secret room and tried to get some sleep, but he couldn’t fall asleep. HIs emotions were all over the place: he was nervous about becoming king soon because he knew there was a lot on his plate that he needed to do, upset that he was one year away from becoming officially engaged to that spoiled princess, and longing to see Mal in the flesh here in Auradon. He was so close to her when he followed her and her friends, which surprised him to find out after the quest that the four officially became friends and called themselves the Core 4, to the old castle but wished he could have touched her and spoke to her. He was feeling so lonely these past few weeks. So much in fact that he did the one thing he never thought he would do, which is sing while outside on his balcony, 

_I wake in the loneliness of sunrise_

_When the deep purple heaven turns blue_

_And start to pray, as I pray each day_

_That I’ll hear some word from you_

_I lie in the loneliness of evening_

_Looking out on a silver flaked sea_

_And ask the moon, oh how soon, how soon_

_Will my love come home to me?_

_I lie in the loneliness of evening_

_Looking out on a silver flaked sea_

_And ask the moon, oh how soon, how soon_

_Will my love come home to me?_

_Will my love come home_

_To me? ___

__Ben sighed, letting a few tears drop from his face with Chewie whining in concern. “I told you that you would sing someday.” Ben turned around and saw Agathe standing behind him. Ben wiped his tears away and said, “Fine. You were right.” Agathe frowned and said, “There is no need to cry, young prince. Everything will work out. I promise. You started your first big steps. You successfully led your first council meeting and gained some magical supporters, you became the guardian of the Isle, and you’re going to be crowned king soon. You should be joyous.” “There’s still one giant problem,” Ben said. “Mal. I can’t wait any longer to bring her over here. It’s starting to kill me. I don’t want her just in my dreams or just beyond my reach when I’m visiting the Isle. I’m tired of all the meeting with Audrey and her family. I am tired of being trapped in this betrothal. I have one year to break it or Audrey will be my queen and I don’t want that.” “Calm yourself, young Skywalker,” Agathe said. “There is a perfect solution to your problem.” “What is it then?” Ben asked. “What is one thing that every king does at the start of their reign?” Agathe asked. Ben thought for a moment then said, “I know the answer, but it’s escaping me. So enlighten me.” Agathe sighed and said, “A first proclamation.” The lightbulb went off in Ben’s head and he said, “Of course. Every king has a chance to make a first proclamation right before his reign starts. I can say that Mal should come over from the Isle.” “True,” Agathe said. “But it would look suspicious if you brought over just her. Why not a few more with her? You have been studying the children of the Isle, have you not?” Agathe pointed to the files on Ben’s desk as Ben realized, “You’re right. And I’ve been following the prefect group to bring over first. The Core 4. I can bring them over as a trial period before getting more children off the Isle, then eventually I can have the shield taken down. Agathe, you’re a genius!” “I know,” Agathe said smugly. “Now, if you want them over here, then you need to make that proclamation soon.” “Of course,” Ben said. “I write it up tonight and present it to my parents tomorrow. Then the Core 4 will be here for the beginning of the school year at Auradon Prep.” He looked out to the Isle and said, “Don’t worry, Mal. I’ll see you soon….”_ _


	7. First Proclamation/Rotten to the Core

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally the first movie is here. Time for Mal and the Core 4 to properly be in the story. Mal needs her time in the spotlight along with Ben.
> 
> Thanks to ellenchoi111 for bookmarking this story. It means a lot. Enjoy!

Ben woke up early the next morning exhausted. He stayed up most of the night writing up his first proclamation, gathering the notes he made on the Core 4, and put everything in a folder to present to his parents. Chewie stretched and yawned at the foot of his bed. Ben took a deep breath and said, “Today’s the day, Chewie. I’m going to make my first proclamation and get Mal along with her friends over here to Auradon. Then things will finally start to happen.” He jumped out of bed and ran over to his closet when Padme appeared next to him saying, “Do you want me to pick something out for you?” Ben shook his head and said, “No thank you, Grandmother. I have to go to a fitting for my royal suit for my coronation and my parents will be meeting me here. That is when I am going to present my first proclamation to them.” Padme nodded and said, “Well, we’re all here for you. If you need us, just let us know.” She then disappeared back into Ben’s body as he started getting ready.

Soon enough, the tailor came in and starting the fitting process. Chewie sat near Ben’s feet. While the tailor was doing his work, Ben was looking out his window at the Isle in the distance. The tailor grabbed his head at one point to measure it, but as soon as he let go, Ben’s head turned back to the window. The king and queen walked in with Adam saying, “How is it possible that you’re gonna be crowned king next month? You’re just a baby.” “He just turned 17, dear,” Belle said. Ben took a deep breath and said, “Hey Pops…” But Adam interrupted, “17? That’s far too young to be crowned king.” “Not soon enough for my plans to get started,” Ben thought as Adam continued, “I didn’t make a good decision until I was at least 42.” Belle hit Adam on the arm and said, “Uh. You decided to marry me at 28.” Adam chuckled and joked, “It was either you or a teapot. Kidding.” 

Ben saw his chance and said, “Mom, Dad…” He tried to step off the pedestal but the tailor stopped him. Ben sighed then turned to his parents and said, “I’ve chosen my first official proclamation.” Ben’s parents looked at each other with joy as Ben continued, “I’ve decided that the children on the Isle of the Lost be given a chance to live here in Auradon.” Belle gasped as Ben finally had the chance to step off the pedestal and said, “Every time I look out to the island, I feel like they’ve been abandoned.” Ben could tell his father was trying to hold in his anger as Adam said, “The children of our sworn enemies? Living among us?” Ben stood strong and said, “We start out with a few at first, only ones who need our help the most. I’ve already chosen them.” Belle smiled while Adam stepped forward and said, “Have you?” Belle stopped her husband and said, “I gave you a second chance. Ben, who are their parents?” Ben walked over and got the folder with his proclamation and files on the Core 4 in it as he said, “Cruella De Vil, Jafar, Evil Queen, and Maleficent.” The tailor screamed as Adam shouted, “Maleficent! She is the worst villain in the land!” “Dad,” Ben said. “Just hear me out here…” “I won’t hear of it!” Adam shouted while Chewie started to walk up beside Ben and growled in warning. “They are guilty of unspeakable crimes. Maleficent cursed the mother or your betrothed for crying out loud.” “Dad!” Ben shouted, letting some of his own anger come out that made Adam be startled by his son’s anger and Chewie backed off. “Their children are innocent. Don’t you think they deserve a shot at a normal life? Dad?” Ben stared at his father hoping that he didn’t need the Force spirits to intervene to persuade them into accepting the proclamation, but Belle gave a knowing look to her husband as Adam calmed down and said, “I suppose the children are innocent.” Adam turned to walk away as Belle came up to Ben and said, “Well done.” She turned to Adam and said, “Shall we?” The royal couple exited Ben’s bedroom.

Ben sighed in relief, looking around and noticing that the tailor left during the argument. The Force spirits appeared before Ben as Leia said, “Well done, my son. You’re on your way to becoming a great king.” The other spirits nodded in agreement as Chewie barked in approval. Ben nodded his thanks as he looked out the window while playing with the family ring on his finger and said, “It worked. I’ll see you soon, Mal. Very soon.”

Over on the Isle, the Core 4 were causing mischief to the denizens of the Isle of the Lost, showing everyone that they were the top dogs. Their leader, Mal, was in a great mood. She woke up that morning feeling like it was going to be a great day. She actually had a good night’s sleep for once. Lately she had been having dreams of a honey brown haired boy at a lake that would smile at her and reach for her hand. Or she would have dreams about that dark guardian that she saw around the streets at night and during the cursed sleep thanks to the Dragon’s Eye. But those dreams of him confused her. Sometimes they just had him standing there staring at her looking imposing. Other times she saw him swinging around a red laser sword causing massive destruction. She saw both light and dark within the mysterious man and was confusing to the point that sometimes she wished to rather have dreams about the boy at the lake again as those weren’t as confusing. But she didn’t have any of those dreams the night before so she felt like celebrating with her gang, the Core 4. At the current moment, she was putting graffiti on a wall while the others were causing their own mischief. Mal turned around from her masterpiece and started to sing her gang’s song,

_(Mal)_

_They say I’m trouble_

_They say I’m bad_

_They say I’m evil_

_And that makes me glad_

_(Jay)_

_A dirty no-good_

_Down to the bone_

_Your worst nightmare_

_Can’t take me home_

_(Evie)_

_So I got some mischief_

_In my blood_

_Can you blame me_

_I never got no love_

_(Carlos)_

_They think I’m callous_

_A low-life hood_

_I feel so useless_

_Misunderstood_

_(Mal and Evie)_

_Mirror mirror on the wall_

_Who’s the baddest of them all_

_Welcome to my wicked world_

_Wicked world_

_(Core 4)_

_I’m rotten to the core, core_

_Rotten to the core_

_I’m rotten to the core, core_

_Who could ask for more_

_I’m nothing like kid next_

_Like the kid next door_

_I’m rotten to the_

_I’m rotten to the_

_I’m rotten to the core_

_(Mal)_

_Call me a schemer_

_Call me a freak_

_How can you say that_

_I’m just unique_

_(Jay)_

_What, me a traitor_

_Ain’t got your back_

_Are we not friends_

_What’s up with that_

_(Evie)_

_So I’m a misfit_

_So I’m a flirt_

_I broke your heart_

_I made ya hurt_

_(Carlos)_

_The past is past_

_Forgive forget_

_The truth is_

_You ain’t seen nothing yet_

_(Mal and Evie)_

_Mirror mirror on the wall_

_Who’s the baddest of them all_

_Welcome to my wicked world_

_Wicked world_

_(Core 4)_

_I’m rotten to the core, core  
Rotten to the core_

_I’m rotten to the core, core_

_Who can’t ask for more_

_I’m nothing like the kid next_

_Like the kid next door_

_I’m rotten to the_

_I’m rotten to the_

_I’m rotten to the core ___

__By the end of the song, others gathered around them and danced and sang with them. A mother came in front of Mal with her baby son in a wagon and Mal grabbed the lollipop from the baby’s hand. She turned to the Core 4 and the others that gathered and everyone laughed evilly. Mal just smiled and thought, “Just a way to survive.”_ _

__Suddenly Mal saw everyone behind her friends run away screaming which Mal knew could only be for one reason. Mal turned around and saw two large men and Mal said, “Hi, Mom.” Maleficent pushed past the two large men and said, “Stealing candy, Mal? I’m so disappointed.” “It was from a baby,” Mal countered handing her the lollipop. Maleficent smiled and snatched the lollipop and said, “That’s my nasty little girl.” Then Maleficent spit on it and handed the lollipop to one of her minions and said, “Give it back to the dreadful creature.” Mal protested, “Mom!” “It’s the deeds, Mal,” Maleficent said. “That make the difference between mean and truly evil. When I was your age I was cursing entire kingdoms.” Mal mouthed along with her mother’s words, having heard about her past numerous times. Maleficent noticed and said, “You…Walk with me. See, I’m just trying to teach you the thing that really counts, how to be me.” Mal sighed internally and said, “I know that. And I’ll do better.” Part of Mal wanted to be like her mother, but there was another part of her that wanted to be something different, something better. It was the light in her talking again and Mal quickly snuffed it back down._ _

__“Oh,” Maleficent said suddenly remembering why she came down to look for her daughter and her friends. “There’s news. I buried the lead. You four have been chosen to go to a different school, in Auradon.” Evie, Carlos, and Jay tried to run for it, but Maleficent’s minions were there to catch them before they tried. Mal turned to her mother and said, “What? I’m not going to some boarding school filled to the brim with prissy pink princesses!” Evie stepped forward and added, “And perfect princes.” Mal gave her a glare and Evie backed off. Jay huffed and said, “Yeah, and I don’t do uniforms. Unless it’s leather. You feel me?” He tried to get a high five from Carlos, but Carlos instead looked at Maleficent and said, “I read somewhere that they allow dogs in Auradon. Mom said they’re rabid pack animals who eat boys who don’t behave.” Jay woofed in Carlos’s ear which startled the white-black haired boy who hit Jay as revenge. Mal looked at her mother and said, “Yeah, Mom, we’re not going.” Maleficent smiled and said, “Oh. You’re thinking small, pumpkin. It’s all about world domination.” She then yelled at her minions to follow her and Mal and the other Core 4 members reluctantly followed behind the dark fairy._ _

__Back at Mal’s house where Evil Queen, Cruella, and Jafar also gathered, Maleficent was telling her plan on what Mal needed to do once she and the others got to Auradon, “You will go. You will find the Fairy Godmother and you will bring me back her magic wand. Easy-peasy.” “What’s in it for us?” Mal asked on behalf of her gang. “Matching thrones,” Maleficent answered. “Hers-and-hers crowns.” “I think she meant us,” Carlos said pointing to his gang. Maleficent sat up from her chair and curled her finger to have Mal come to her as she said, “It’s all about you and me, baby! Do you enjoy watching innocent people suffer?” “Not innocent people exactly,” Mal thought since she didn’t like being evil to the children who were suffering like her, but knew that her mother shouldn’t know that so she lied, “Well, yeah, I mean, who doesn’t…” Maleficent interrupted, “Well, then get me the wand and you and I can see that and so much more. And with that wand and my scepter, I will be able to bend both good and evil to my will!” “Our will!” Evil Queen called out. “Our will, our will,” Maleficent said. “And if you refuse, you’re grounded for the rest of your life, missy.” Mal tried to retort but Maleficent stopped her and glared at her with her glowing green eyes. Mal tried to fight it off, but she didn’t have her mother’s strength, and her unknown Force powers haven’t reawakened yet, so she was in a losing fight. Mal finally scoffed and said, “Fine. Whatever.” “I win,” Maleficent said as Mal walked away._ _

__“Evie,” Evil Queen called her daughter who ran up and sat down next to her mother. “My little Evil-ette in training. You just find yourself a prince with a big castle and a mother-inn-law wing. “And lots of lots of mirrors!” The mother and daughter said together. Evie smiled and laughed but Evil Queen said, “No laughing. Wrinkles.” Cruella huffed and said, “Well, they’re not taking my Carlos, because I’d miss him too much.” “Really, Mom?” Carlos asked. “Yes,” Cruella answered. “Who would touch up my roots? Fluff my fur and scrape the bunions off my feet?” Carlos knew it was true good to be true and said, “Yeah, maybe a new school wouldn’t be the worst thing.” Cruella then said, “Carlos, they have dogs in Auradon.” That scared Carlos and he shouted, “No! I’m not going!” Jafar then said, “Well, Jay isn’t going either. I need him to stock the shelves in my store.” He turned to his son and asked, “What did you score?” Jay then proceeded to pull out several items he stole including a lamp which Jafer happily rubbed hoping for a genie but Jay said, “Dad, I already tried.” Jafar scoffed as Evil Queen said, “Evie’s not going anywhere until wee get rid of this unibrow. Hmm?”_ _

__Maleficent then shouted, “What is wrong with you all? People used to cower at the mention of our names! For 20 years, I have searched for a way off this island. For 20 years, they have robbed us from our revenge! Revenge on Snow White and her horrible little men! Revenge on Aladdin and his bloated Genie! Revenge on every sneaky Dalmatian that escaped your clutches!” “Oh,” Cruella said pointing to a stuffed head on her fur coat. “But they didn’t get Baby. They didn’t get the…” Maleficent rolled her eyes and said, “And I, Maleficent, the evilest of them all. I will finally have my revenge on Sleeping Beauty and her relentless little prince. Villains! Our day has come. EQ, give her the magic mirror.” “Yeah,” Evil Queen said handing a small mirror to Evie who asked, “This is your magic mirror?” “Yeah,” Evil Queen answered. “Well, it ain’t what it used to be, but then again, neither are we! It will help you find things.” “Like a prince!” Evie said. “Like my waistline,” Evil Queen retorted. “Like the magic wand!” Maleficent huffed. She then ran over to the fridge and said, “My spell book. My book. I need me…That book. It’s in my safe. Queen, help me. I never can figure this thing out.” Evil Queen sighed and got up and helped Maleficent open the fridge. Maleficent pulled out her spell book and said, “Come, darling. Come.” Mal got up and walked over to her mother. “There she is. It doesn’t work here, but it will in Auradon. Remember, when we were spreading evil and ruining lives.” “Like it was yesterday,” Evil Queen said. Maleficent nodded and continued, “And now, you will be making your own memories. By doing exactly as I tell you.” She handed the spell book to Mal who took it and looked at it. She could feel the magic brimming off of it. “This is it,” Mal thought to herself. “This is my chance to prove myself to my mother. To help all those who are suffering here. Time to become who I should be!”_ _

__Suddenly everyone heard a car honk and everyone realized that it was time for the kids to go. “Let’s get this party started!” Jay said. “Carlos! Come!” Cruella called as she and Carlos walked outside. “Who is the fairest of them all?” Evil Queen asked Evie. “Me. You.” Evie relented as they walked out. “Now recite our mantra,” Jafar told Jay. “There’s no team in I,” Jay said, making his father proud as they walked outside, Jafar trying to steal some things from the table before he left. Maleficent walked her daughter out onto the balcony that had a view of Auradon and said, “The future of the free world rests on your shoulders. Don’t blow it.” Maleficent walked away as Mal looked out to Auradon. “I’m getting off of this island,” Mal thought. “I hope I succeed in Mother’s plans. But is it what I really want? To be like her? Or be who I should be?” “Mal!” Maleficent shouted as Mal turned and walked away._ _

__A limo was waiting outside for the Core 4. Jay sneakily took the gold front of the car off when no one was looking as Evie put her things in the trunk and Evil Queen said, “Ugh. Smells like common folk. Suddenly Carlos ran past everyone, throwing his stuff in the trunk and jumping into the car after Evie. “Come back here, now!” Cruella called out. “Carlos! Ingrate.” Jay got in just as Mal was waling outside to the car and put her stuff in the trunk. As she was getting into the car, she looked up at her mother standing on the balcony who mimed to her that she was always watching. Mal nodded then looked down past the gathering crowds and saw a flash of blue flaming hair in the back with glowing eyes. But as she blinked, it was gone. “Dad?” Mal thought. Shaking her head, she turned to get in the car, but off in a dark alley on the side of the street Mal saw the dark guardian of the Isle with his imposing mask staring at her. She felt a little fear entered her, but then the mysterious man disappeared in the wind. “And here I thought I was having a good day,” Mal thought as she got into the limo. The limo driver said into a phone, “The jackals have landed.” And the limo started to drive away with Mal looking out the window at the people thinking, “If I am going to get the wand, it’s to free the children of this place who are just like us. Part of me would rather keep my crazy mother here. At least I can finally be away from her for a while. Maybe Auradon will help me figure out why I am having these strange dreams. Either way, Auradon, here we come….”_ _


	8. VKs Arrive in Auradon

Ben was still sitting in a mediative pose when he opened his eyes. He used astral projection to send his spirit to the Isle of the Lost to make sure that Mal and the other VKs got into the limo without any resistance. He saw that Mal looked straight at him before he left to merge back into his body. He looked over to Chewie, who was laying down next to him and said, “Mal’s coming. She’s finally coming to Auradon. We’re going to be reunited at last.” Chewie gave a couple of barks. Ben sighed, knowing what Chewie was telling him, since Ben could read his thoughts as those were in Shyriiwook, the Wookiee’s language, and Ben understood Shyriiwook, and said, “I know she doesn't have her memories as Rey yet or reawakened her Force powers, but the first step was getting her over here and that is happening.” Ben got up and stretched his limbs. “They’re on their way here. So I need to go downstairs and greet them. And Chewie, you need to stay here. Normally I would want you there, but Carlos is afraid of dogs, so having you there will frighten him. Maybe you can meet the VKs another day when things have settled down.” “And why are you having a big celebration at the front of your school to greet them?” Luke appeared next to Ben. The prince sighed and said, “Personally I didn’t want that big of a greeting, but Fairy Godmother insisted. Are you and the others going to find a hiding place to watch?” Luke shook his head and said, “No, kid. You have the best seat in the house. So we are all going to watch from there. Good luck,” With that, Luke disappeared back into Ben’s body as Ben patted Chewie on the head and walked out of his room.

Ben got to the front of the school where Audrey was waiting, who huffed and said, “I can’t believe that you invited those villains to our kingdom. Not to mention this school.” Ben sighed and said, “Audrey, we’ve been over this. It is my first proclamation and that is final. The children are innocent. We need to give them a chance.” “Why did you have to bring over the daughter of my family’s greatest enemy?” Audrey hissed. Ben turned to Audrey and sent her a glare that stopped Audrey in her tracks and said, “That girl needs our help. Just like the others. I want to give them a chance here. You can’t judge someone based on who their parents here. Understand?” Audrey nodded meekly as Ben calmed down, sighing to himself that he had to use some mental persuasion on her to back off, and said, “Now. They are going to be here soon. Just put on one of your smiles and greet them. Like a princess should. OK?” Audrey put on one of her fake smiles and said, “OK. For you BennyBoo.” Ben groaned internally, hating that nickname, which caused some of the Force spirits in his head to snicker. Ben did the gentleman thing and held his arm out for Audrey to take and Audrey did, the betrothed couple walking outside with Ben thinking, “Hopefully I won’t have to spend my time with this spoiled princess any longer.” 

As the Core 4 were riding in the limo to Auradon, Carlos and Jay were fighting over the huge amounts of junk food in the car. Evie was looking at Mal and said, “You’re looking a little washed out. Let me help you out.” Mal hated wearing makeup and said, “Ew. Stop! I’m plotting.” “Well,” Evie retorted. “It’s not very attractive.” Carlos then moaned as he was putting different sweets in his mouth and said, “These…It’s salty like nuts, but it’s sweet like I don’t know what.” “Let me see,” Jay said. Carlos opened his mouth to show him, but Jay scoffed and just took the rest our of Carlos’ hand to eat. Mal found a remote next to her and pushed a button on it, which lowered the screen between them and the driver. Evie looked out the front window and shouted, “Look!” The limo driver was driving right to the edge of the road, where there was no road. “It’s a trap!” Carlos screamed as he and the others ducked for cover. But then a magical bridge appeared and the limo drove onto it. Everyone noticed that they weren’t dead and sat up as Carlos asked, “What just happened?” Everyone saw the bridge as Evie said, “It must be magic!” Mal suddenly felt something surge inside of her. “My magic,” Mal realized. “I can feel my magic.” She was happy with that so now she could use her mother’s spell book. But she also felt something else. It was weak, but it was there. It felt different from her magic, like it was something special. But Mal waved that thought off for now as she turned to the driver and said, “Hey. Did this little button just open up the magic barrier?” The driver held up another remote and said, “No, this one opens the magic barrier. That one opens my garage. And this button…” He then pushed a button above him and closed the screen so that he could have some peace and quiet. “OK,” Mal said. “Nasty. I like that guy.” 

The limo drove over the bridge right into Auradon and drove right to the school. Ben and Audrey were waiting with Fairy Godmother at the front door. He had a smile on his face that he couldn’t get rid of which Audrey noticed and scoffed at. Soon they heard the band start to play, which Ben thought it was a little too much, but Fairy Godmother insisted. They all walked outside to where the limo stopped as the driver opened the door and Carlos and Jay tumbled out fighting over a pair of jeans with Carlos shouting, “Ow! You got everything else, why do you want whatever this is?” The band stopped playing as Ben, Audrey, and Fairy Godmother approached and Jay replied to Carlos, “Because you want it!” “No!” Carlos shouted. “Give it to me!” Jay shouted as Ben took in the scene. He wasn’t really surprised by their actions, since it was normal for the two boys back on the Isle. Mal and Evie had gotten out behind them and Ben sucked in a breath. “She’s here,” Ben thought. “Right in front of my eyes, in the flesh. She’s beautiful.” He kept his eyes on her as Mal whispered to the two boys, “Guys! We have an audience.” Jay looked up and saw Fairy Godmother standing there and said, “Just cleaning up.” He helped Carlos up as Fairy Godmother said, “Leave it like you found it. And by that I mean just leave it.” 

Jay threw everything he and Carlos had back into the limo. Mal groaned at Jay’s actions and looked at the three people in front of her. But once she looked at Ben, her heart stopped. “It’s him!” Mal thought. “The boy at the lake from my dreams. He’s the prince who invited us here?” She noticed Ben staring at her, who noticed and blushed, looking away. Mal noticed the girl with her arm around the prince and a wave of jealousy suddenly hit her. “Wait,” Mal thought. “Why am I feeling jealous? I don’t even know that guy yet.” Jay walked up to Audrey and said, “Hello, foxy. The name’s Jay.” Audrey laughed nervously clinging onto Ben more, which made Ben groan a little, which Mal noticed and smirked. 

Fairy Godmother then spoke up and said, “Welcome to Auradon Prep. I’m Fairy Godmother, Headmistress.” That took Mal’s attention away from Ben and said, “The Fairy Godmother? As is Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo?” “Bibbidi-Bobbidi you know it!” Fairy Godmother responded. “Yeah,” Mal said. “I always wondered what it felt like for Cinderella, when you just appeared, out of nowhere, with that sparkly wand and warm smile. And that sparkling wand.” “Something’s up,” Ben thought. “Why is she so interested in the wand? Need to find out.” “That was a long time ago,” Fairy Godmother said. “And as I always say, don’t focus on the past or you’ll miss the future!” 

Ben stepped forward and said, “It’s so good to finally meet you all. I’m Ben.” “Prince Benjamin,” Audrey said stepping forward as well. “Soon to be king.” Ben looked down to collect himself as he didn’t like Audrey interrupting him. “Maybe we should carbonate freeze her,” Han said in his head. “Han!” Leia shouted. “Not the time. Ben’s just upset that Audrey is stealing his first moment with Rey…Mal. Show some respect.” Ben mentally told his original parents to quiet down as Evie stepped forward and said, “You had me at prince. My mom’s a queen. Which makes me a princess.” Audrey scoffed and said, “The Evil Queen has no royal status here and neither do you.” “Actually,” Ben said. “Even though Queen Snow White took over the throne, Evie’s mother is still legally a queen since she had her reign. So Evie is a princess by blood.” Evie looked at Ben with love and gratitude in her eyes as Ben secretly nodded to her. He turned to Audrey and said, “This is Audrey.” “Princess Audrey,” Audrey corrected as she grabbed Ben’s hand. “His girlfriend. And future queen. Right, Bennyboo?” Ben chuckled nervously as he could hear several of the Force spirits laughing in his head at the nickname. He mentally told them to shut up as he looked at the Core 4 standing there awkwardly. He looked into Mal’s eyes and saw something in them that he wasn’t expecting right away, a tinge of jealously. “Interesting,” Ben thought as Fairy Godmother broke through Ben and Audrey’s handholding, much to Ben relief, and said, “Ben and Audrey are going to show you all around, and I’ll see you tomorrow for the first day of school. The doors of wisdom are never shut! But the library hours are from 8:00 to 11:00. And as you may have heard, I have a little thing about curfews.” Fairy Godmother then walked away as the band followed her.

Ben took the opportunity to step away from Audrey and to the VKs and said, “It is so, so, so good to finally meet you all.” He walked to Jay to shake hands, but Jay swung his fist to play punch him instead. But Ben’s reflexes and instincts kicked in and he grabbed Jay’s fist in midair, surprising the VKs and Audrey. Jay looked shocked as Mal looked at Ben and thought, “Princey here seems to be full of surprises.” Ben had a hard look on his face for a second, then his face morphed into a smile and said, “I apologize. Whenever I see a punch, my self-defense skills kick in. From now on, I will understand that this is the way you like to greet others. Cool?” Jay looked at the prince shocked, then shrugged with a smirk and said, “Cool.” Ben grinned and moved over to Mal and reached for her hand to shake. But when their hands touched, the air around them turned quiet, just like it would for their Force bond in the past. Mal and Ben were staring at each other’s eyes as each one saw a flash of images in their heads. Ben saw her whole life on the Isle, which he was familiar with some of the images since he saw them before in his dreams. He also did see Mal talking to her mother right before she came to Auradon, but couldn’t hear what was being said as the images were passing too quickly. But what surprised him was that he saw visions of himself as Kylo Ren, which shocked Ben. “So,” Ben realized. “She is starting to get the memory dreams like I did. But mostly about me as Kylo Ren. I wonder….” He focused his mind a little on hers and saw blurry visions of Rey. “She must have only just recently started to get visions of herself as Rey.” Meanwhile, Mal was getting blurry images of Ben’s life, seeing him cry about nightmares, him running away into the forest, and feeling miserable when he was around Audrey. “So,” Mal thought. “He’s not a fan of his little princess girlfriend, huh?” But then Mal got a quick flash of the dark guardian of the Isle in her head before Ben pulled his hand away. “Ben’s seen the dark guardian?” Mal thought. “How?” 

Although the moment between them felt like an eternity, in reality it was only a couple of seconds. Ben tore his eyes away from Mal and looked to the others and said, “This is a momentous occasion, and one that I hope will go down in history.” He shook Carlos’ hand, realizing that it was covered in chocolate. Ben pulled his hand away and brought his fingers to his mouth, tasting it, making Audrey gag behind him. “Is that chocolate?” Ben asked Carlos. Carlos just sucked on his fingers in response as Ben said, “Reese’s Cups. Good choice.” Carlos looked shocked at Ben, who went over to shake Evie’s hand as he continued, “As the day our two peoples began to heal.” “Or the day that you showed four peoples where the bathrooms are.” Ben laughed a little, amused that Mal had a similar sense of humor to himself. He walked over to Mal and asked, “A little bit over the top?” Mal smiled and said, “A little more than a little bit.” Both of them chuckled as Ben said, “Well, so much for my first impression. I hope I didn’t embarrass myself too much to all of you guys. My apologies, Mal.” Mal looked at Ben as he looked at her. Audrey noticed this and stepped in between them and said, “Hey! You’re Maleficent’s daughter, aren’t you?” “Oh great,” Ben thought. “Audrey’s trying to start something.” Audrey then continued, “Yeah, you know what? I totally do not blame you for your mother trying to kill my parents and stuff. Oh, my mom’s Aurora. Sleeping…” “Beauty,” Mal interrupted. “Yeah, I’ve heard the name. You know, and I totally do not blame your grandparents for inviting everyone in the whole world, but my mother to their stupid christening.” Audrey chuckled and said, “Water under the bridge.” “Totes!” Mal replied. Both girls faked laughed then sighed dramatically. Ben felt awkward and said, “OK! So, how about a tour?” The Core 4 nodded as Audrey put her arm around Ben’s and Ben guided the new students around campus.

“Auradon Prep,” Ben said as the group was walking around. “Originally built over 300 years ago and converted into a high school by my father when he became king.” They stopped in front of a statue of his father and clapped in front of it, changing the statue from a king to a beast. Carlos screamed and jumped into Jay’s arms. Ben saw this and said, “Carlos, it’s OK. My father wanted his statue to morph from beast to man to remind us that anything is possible.” Jay dropped Carlos onto the ground as Mal sarcastically asked, “Does he shed much?” “Yeah,” Ben said going along with her. “Mom won’t let him on the couch. Or Chewie for that matter.” Mal tilted her head in confusion as Ben smiled and said, “Story for another time.” He and Audrey turned to walk inside as Mal, Evie, and Jay followed. Carlos stayed and tried to clap to get the statue back to the human form. Ben sensed this and clapped his hands making the statue return to normal, startling Carlos to make him run inside with fear.

Inside the lobby, Mal asked, “So, you guys have a lot of magic here at Auradon? Like wands and things like that?” “We used to,” Ben said, with a sad look in his eyes that Mal noticed. “But my father banned magic when he started his reign 20 years ago. It is now only allowed for special ceremonies and emergencies. So everyone now here are just ordinary mortals.” Mal realized that Ben may not have been happy with the fact that magic was banned but shook that thought aside and said, “Who happened to be kings and queens.” “That’s true,” Audrey interrupted. “Our royal bloodline goes back hundreds of years.” She took Ben’s arm and wrapped it around her shoulder as Ben chuckled nervously, which Mal noticed. Ben looked around trying to find an excuse to get his arm off of Audrey and saw Doug walking down the stairs. “Doug!” Ben shouted getting his arm off of Audrey. “Doug, come down.” He walked over to Doug and turned to the others and said, “This is Doug. He’s gonna help you with your class schedules…” “And show you the rest of the dorms,” Audrey interrupted. “Ben and I have an important meeting to get to.” Ben turned to glare at Audrey, but sighed as he knew that he needed to go process what he just learned from Mal. He stepped forward to Mal and said, “I’ll see you later, OK? And if there is anything you need, feel free to….” “Ask Doug,” Audrey interrupted again. Audrey then pulled Ben away from the VKs and out the door, much to Ben’s irritation.

Doug turned to the Core 4 and said, “Hi, guys. I’m Doug. Dopey’s son. As in Dopey, Doc, Bashful, Happy, Grumpy, Sleepy, and….” But then he stopped talking when Evie turned to him with a smile on her face that made Doug’s heart melt. “Heigh-Ho.” Evie stepped forward and said, “Evie. Evil Queen’s daughter.” Doug shook his head a bit to clear it as he said, “OK. So about your classes. I put in the requirements already. History of Woodsmen and Pirates, Safety Rules for the Internet, and Remedial Goodness 101.” Mal walked around and looked over Doug’s shoulder and said, “Let me guess. New class?” Doug nodded meekly as Mal looked to her gang and said, “Come on, guys, let’s go find our dorms.” The Core 4 walked up the stairs as Doug said, “Oh. Uh, yeah, your dorms are that way, guys.” The VKs walked back down the stairs and past Doug who was muttering, “Dopey, Doc, Bashful, Happy, Grumpy, Sleepy, and…” “Sneezy,” Carlos said from behind Doug before walking away. “Oh,” Doug said. 

Audrey finished dragging Ben away, having dragged him all the way to the tourney field as Audrey turned to Ben and asked, “What was that?” Ben tilted his head in confusion and asked, “What do you mean?” “You know very well what I mean!” Audrey hissed. “You were flirting with the daughter of my parents’ enemy!” “Calm, down, Audrey,” Ben said. “I was just being friendly. I invited them here. So I didn’t want to be antagonistic towards them. Like you were to Mal.” Audrey huffed and said, “Well at least I wasn’t flirting in front of my betrothed.” Ben glared at Audrey with the Force spirits in his head telling him to not give into his anger. Ben closed his eyes and took a deep breath to recenter himself. He opened his eyes and looked at Audrey and said, “I am trying to be friendly to all of them. They deserve a chance at a normal life. They didn’t grow up the way we did. And I want to give them that chance. All I am asking is for you to do the same. Remember Fairy Godmother’s saying, don’t focus on the past or else you’ll miss your future. I suggest you take that advice to heart. I sure do.” Audrey huffed but didn’t say anything in response as Ben turned around and said, “I have to go. Need to prep for tomorrow.” Ben walked away as Audrey folded her arms in frustration. Chad walked up to her and asked, “Trouble in paradise?” Audrey turned to Chad and said, “Just some disagreements. Don’t worry. I’ll wrangle him back in no time.” “Don’t be too stressed out about it, babe,” Chad said. Audrey smiled and kissed Chad on the cheek and said, “You’re cute. Come on. Let’s get out of here. I need to get ready for tomorrow.” What the two royals didn’t know was that Ben can sense the entire conversation thanks to his Force connection and Ben smirked as he was walking back to his dorm room.

Ben entered his dorm room and closed the door, Chewie running towards him. “Hey, Chewie,” Been greeted. “Come on. I don’t want to talk here where someone might hear me.” He concentrated and made the door to his secret room appear. He walked through the door along with Chewie as the Force spirits appeared around him. R2D2 rolled up to him and beeped several times. “Welcome, Master Ben,” C-3PO said as he walked up. “How was the arrival of the new students?” “Interesting,” Ben said taking off his jacket. “They acted like their normal selves. I did surprise them by blocking Jay’s play punch to me. My reflexes are too much. But I did find out something interesting.” “About Mal?” Obi-Wan asked. Ben nodded and said, “When we touched hands, I saw images from her past. I couldn’t hear anything, only see. It looks like her mother and the parents of the other VKs talked about something important that they want their kids to do when they got here. I had a feeling something like that would happen.” “Then shouldn’t you stop them?” Padme asked. “No,” Ben said. “On the Isle, their parents influenced them too much. Here, they can have a chance to be themselves and become more than their parents. But I need to find out what their plan is. I think it might have something to do with Fairy Godmother’s wand. Mal kept mentioning it. But there’s something else too.” “What is it?” Leia asked. 

“She’s having dreams about me, the spirit me, but also the memories of Kylo Ren.” “Seeing you in that form on the Isle must have triggered the dreams to start,” Anakin deduced. “But not the dreams she should start having,” Yoda added. “I did see Rey too,” Ben said. “But the images were blurry, like she is just starting to have them, quite recently.” “Then you must treat this with caution,” Luke said. “Remember Agathe’s warning of not pushing Mal too much into remembering her past when the Force says it’s not time yet.” “Plus,” Han added. “You need to work on that crush of yours, kid. I know you felt the spark when your hands touched. Work some of your Solo magic on her.” Leia smacked Han on the head and said, “Of course you would say something like that. Ben needs to do this the natural way. He’s only seen Mal from a distance. He needs to spend actual time with the girl. Get to know the new her.” “Mom’s right,” Ben agreed. “I did feel the spark Dad mentioned. And I could also feel the conflict in her. The light is there, but her mother’s influence is strong. But I did see a tinge of jealousy in her eyes when Audrey was acting too clingy. Which means that she feels that spark just like I do. I want to help that spark grow into something more. For both of us.” “That’s the spirit, grandson,” Anakin said. “So what’s the plan?” Ben smirked and said, “Well, first, I need to figure out fully what the VKs’ plan is. So time for meditation.”

Mal and Evie found their room and opened the door. Inside are two twin beds with white and pink bedding, two lounge chairs, two desks, and two windows with flower curtains. “Wow!” Evie said. “This place is so amaz…” “Gross,” Mal interrupted. “I know, right?” Evie said. “Amazingly gross. Ew.” But inside Evie was excited about the room they were in. Mal scoffed and said, “I’m going to need some serious sunscreen.” She pointed to one window so Evie could walk to it and close the curtains as Mal did the same. “Phew!” Mal said. “That is much better. Now, we need to figure out how to get the wand. Once it’s dusk, we’ll meet with the boys.” Mal suddenly turned around, feeling like someone was watching her. “Mal?” Evie asked. “You OK?” Mal looked back at Evie and said, “Sorry. I’m just on high alert now that we are here in Auradon.”

Ben opened his eyes and saw the Force spirits, Chewie, and the two robots looking down at him. “Anything?” Luke asked. “They want the wand,” Ben said. “I think their parents want them to steal the wand to bring down the barrier.” “Is that what you want to do eventually?” Han asked. “Yes,” Ben said. “But not like this. I want to get those who are suffering for crimes they did not commit to get off that island. Some of those villains haven’t changed at all. Yes they shouldn’t be there either, but they want to wreck havoc on Auradon. If Mal and the other VKs take down the barrier now without myself and Agathe taking precautions about containing those who aren’t peaceful, then evil will reign. I have to think this through and strategize. I can’t let everyone out at once. Even though I want to get as many as I can out at once, Auradon isn’t ready for that, as much as I hate to say that. I want the people of Auradon to see the way I do about the Isle. And I want the ban of magic to be lifted so the magical beings here can help prepare Auradon for the residents of the Isle and rebalance the magical nature of this place. “Wow,” Anakin said. “You’ve really thought this through, huh?” Ben nodded as he stood up and said, “I have. I want to do this right. And for the right reasons. And Mal and the others need to realize that too. Now, I need your help. I think the VKs will act tonight for getting the wand. Will some of you watch them when they meet up?” Luke and Anakin stepped forward and nodded, disappearing from the room. “What are you going to do?” Leia asked. Ben smiled holding out his hand summoning his lightsaber. “I need to rest, Mother. I have a feeling that the dark guardian of the Isle will need to make an appearance tonight….”


	9. Museum Break In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this chapter took a few days to come out. Work this week was tiring as one of my co-workers had to call off this week for a family emergency so we were short staffed which causes some stress. Luckily I had today off so I could relax and finish this chapter. Thanks to those who have given kudos and bookmarked this story. Enjoy!

Mal and Evie snuck their way to Carlos and Jay’s dorm room late at night. They opened the door to find Carlos playing a video game and Jay going through several items he stole from around campus. “Jay,” Mal said. “What are you doing?” “It’s called stealing,” Jay answered. “OK,” Mal said. “What’s the point?” “Well, Mal,” Jay answered. “It’s like buying whatever I want, except it’s free.” “OK,” Mal said. “So, you can do that, or you can leave all of this here and pick it up when we take over the world.” “You sound just like your mom!” Mal felt conflicted inside about that statement, as yes she wanted to impress her mom, but another part of her didn’t want to be her mom, but she decided to cover that thought up and looked proud in front of her gang at that statement. “You do it your way and I’ll do it mine,” Jay said. “Die, suckers!” Carlos shouted at the video game. He turned around and said, “Jay, come check this thing out! Man, it’s awesome!” Jay took the controls from Carlos and played the game, getting really into it. “Guys!” Mal shouted. “Do I have to remind you what we’re all here for?” “Fairy Godmother…” Jay said focusing on the game. “Blah, blah, blah. Magic wand, blah, blah, blah.” 

Mal sighed and said, “This is our one chance to prove ourselves to our parents. To prove that we are evil and vicious and ruthless and cruel.” The other three turned and stared at her after she was done talking. The light in Mal was trying to fight back and say that she wasn’t evil and she shouldn’t turn to the dark, but Mal pushed it back down and said, “Yeah?” Everyone nodded their heads as Mal said, “Evie, mirror me.” Evie pulled out her mirror as everyone gathered around the table as Evie said, “Mirror, mirror on the…in my hand. Where is Fairy’s Godmother’s wand stand?” The mirror then showed the wand as Mal shouted, “There it is!” “Zoom out,” Carlos said. “Magic mirror, not so close,” Evie said. The mirror zoomed out to show the Earth. Evie then was telling the mirror to get closer and closer to showing the location of the wand. As the four were watching the mirror, Mal felt a shiver go through her and she turned her head around, looking around the room, feeling like someone was watching her again. Like something just touched her. Shaking her head, she looked back at the mirror as Carlos was trying to get back to his game when the mirror stopped and Mal said, “It’s in a museum? Do we know where that is?” Carlos pulled over a laptop and typed away then said, “2.3 miles from here.” Mal raced to the door, opened it to look around to see if anyone else was around, then whispered, “Come on.” Evie and Jay followed her out of the room while Carlos was back playing his game when Evie whispered, “Carlos!” Carlos dropped the controls, grabbed his jacket, and whispered “Coming!” as he ran out the door. 

What the four teens didn’t know was that there were two Force spirits standing in the room looking out where the teens left. “So,” Anakin said. “That’s what they're planning. They want to get the wand to bring down the barrier for their parents to take over Auradon.” “Ben was right about that,” Luke said. “But, Dad, you have to be careful when you’re around Mal. She could sense something when you touched her shoulder.” “Hey,” Anakin scoffed. “I wanted a closer look at that mirror. That Jay kid is tall.” Luke sighed and said, “You’re tall as well, you know. Come on. We need to talk to Ben. He needs to know what we saw.” The two Force spirits then disappeared. 

Ben was asleep in his dorm room, which because he was the Crown Prince, he didn’t have to share with anyone. Luke and Anakin’s Force spirits appeared and Luke said, “Ben, wake up.” Ben was up in an instant and looked over at Luke and Anakin and asked, “What did you two learn?” “They’re going to the museum to try to steal Fairy Godmother’s wand,” Anakin said. “Right now.” “They want to impress their parents,” Luke added. “Mal included.” “Maybe,” Ben said. “But I sensed the conflict in Mal earlier. The light in her is trying to make sure she doesn’t go completely to the dark side. Maleficent had too much influence on her on the Isle. I need to go stop them myself.” “But doesn’t the museum have a force field around the wand?” Anakin asked. “Yes,” Ben said. “But I want to get them out of there without any alarms going off and alerting my parents. They still aren’t fully on board with having these kids here anyway. Plus, it’s time they meet the true me in the flesh, so to speak. Wish me luck.” Luke and Anakin nodded as they disappeared back into Ben’s body as the prince laid back down and closed his eyes, concentrating on astral projection. Suddenly his spirit emerged next to the bed, helmet less. He shook out his black hair and dusted his cape off. “Old habits,” Ben muttered in his original deep voice. He then put his mask on and said in the modulated deep voice, “Time to make an appearance.” He then phased through the wall of his bedroom and flew off to the museum.

The Core 4 ran all the way to the museum. They stopped when they reached the boundaries and Mal said to Evie, “Check your mirror.” “Is my mascara smudged?” Evie asked. “Yeah,” Mal said sarcastically. “And hey, while you’re at it, why don’t you see if you can find us the wand.” “Sure,” Evie said looking into her magic mirror. “This way.” She led the others right to the front doors where they peaked in. There was an old security guard sitting at a table surrounded by monitors hooked up to different cameras showing off different exhibits: King Triton’s trident, King Adam’s rose, Genie’s lamp, etc. Standing right in front of the guard was the spinning wheel that Maleficent enchanted to curse Queen Aurora. Jay saw it and asked, “That’s your mother’s spinning wheel?” He and Carlos laughed while Carlos said, “Yeah, it’s kind of dorky.” Mal huffed and said, “It’s magic. It doesn’t have to look scary.” Mal then got an idea and pulled out the spell book. She needed a way to get past the guard so she chanted, “Magic spindle do not linger. Make my victim prick a finger.” The guard didn’t move as Jay said sarcastically, “Impressive.” “I got chills,” Carlos added. Mal scoffed and said, “OK, you know what.” Mal closed her eyes and concentrated on summoning her magic and said, “Prick the finger, prick it deep. Send my enemy off to sleep.” The guard stood up, as if in a trance, walked over to the spinning wheel, and pricked his finger on the spindle. He then knelt down to the floor and fell asleep.” Mal smirked and said, “Not so dorky now, huh?” She then tried to open the door, but it was locked. Jay smirked and said, “Stand back.” He backed up as the others moved to the side and Mal chanted, “Make it easy, make it quick, open up without a kick.” The doors blew open as Jay jumped into the air with a kick then landed down on the ground hard. The others laughed as Mal walked past him and asked, “Coming?” Evie walked past while Carlos helped Jay up, “Come on, Jay.” “I’m good,” Jay said, pushing Carlos off of him. He walked away while Carlos said, “Just trying to help.” 

As Carlos ran to catch up with the others, no one noticed a dark figure land on the ground in front of the open doors. “They’re here,” Ben said walking through the door. His eyes fell onto the sleeping security guard. He ran up and examined him. “Sleeping spell,” Ben deduced looking at the spinning wheel next to the guard. “Looks like Mal is already doing some magic. Interesting.” He looked down at the guard and said, “Luckily he’ll only stay asleep until sunrise.” He then closed his eyes to sense where the Core 4 were in the museum. “Time to make my entrance,” Ben said in his deep modulated voice as he opened his eyes and walking in the direction he sensed the VKs go in. 

The Core 4 were running through multiple hallways as Evie was guiding them with her mirror, “So close.” They ran up flights of stairs to the top floor when suddenly they halted. There in front of them was a display of the villains, mainly their parents. Evie stared at the figure of her mom and said, “Mommy?” Jay looked at the statue of his dad and said, “Killer.” Carlos stared at the statue of his mother and said, “I’ll never forget Mother’s Day again.” Mal was staring at the statue of her mother when Jay said, “Well, the wand’s not here. Let’s bounce.” Evie, Carlos, and Jay ran out of the exhibit, but Mal stayed behind and walked toward the statue of her mother, Maleficent. 

She could hear her mother’s words in her head, “The future of the free world rests on your shoulders. Don’t blow it.” Mal sighed and said to herself, “Look at you. And look at me. I don’t know who to be, Mother. It is wrong or right to be a thief in the night, Mother. What should I do?” She knew that her mother would just tell her to be “Evil like me,” but Mal wasn’t completely satisfied with that answer. Part of her wanted to give into that darkness and be evil, but then there was that light in her that she could never fully snuff out. She then thought of Ben, who she realized that she had dreamt about before coming to Auradon. She felt the connection they had from when they first stared into each other’s eyes to when they touched hands. When she was with Ben, there wasn’t any darkness and the light wasn’t trying to be bright because she was in Auradon. She felt at peace when she was with him. And she didn’t understand why. Was her true path suppose to be with Ben? She looked past her mother’s statue and saw one of her father, Hades. The man who abandoned her when she was a baby. She didn’t understand why he did it, but she was still angry at him. She holds very few memories of him and only remembers one thing that he would always say to her, “You’ll always be my little sunshine. My Rey.” Mal started to tear up when she heard Evie shout, “Hey! I found the wand! Let’s go.” Mal quickly dried her eyes so that she didn’t appear weak to her gang and ran after Evie. 

She caught up with her friends as they saw the prize, “There it is!” They ran into the room and marveled at the sight of the wand. Jay was getting ready to jump for it when Mal shouted, “Jay, don’t!” Mal noticed that the wand had a force field around it. Jay ignored Mal and he ran up to the wand with Mal shouting, “Wait, no. No! Don’t!” Jay then jumped over the railing to get the wand, but then suddenly stopped in midair. Mal, Evie, and Carlos looked confused as Carlos asked, “How are you doing that?” “How should I know?” Jay said. “I’m the one who’s stuck.” “You know,” a deep modulated voice rang out from the room. “For the son of a grand vizier, I thought you would be smarter about your actions.” The VKs looked over and saw a dark figure, Ben in spirit form, dressed in his new dark grey clothes similar to his Kylo Ren outfit with his helmet on making his voice sound more modulated, step out from behind a curtain with his hand raised in Jay’s direction, meaning he was the one to stop Jay from touching the wand. “If you used your head, you would realize that the wand is surrounded by a force field and is connected to an alarm so that if you touched it, the alarm would go off and alert security, and the King of Auradon.” He then used the Force to throw Jay across the room where he landed at the others’ feet. Carlos looked up frightened and said, “You’re the guardian of the Isle, aren’t you?” “I am,” Ben said in his deep modulated spirit voice. “Then what are you doing here?” Evie asked. “If you are the guardian of the Isle, don’t you want us to bring down the barrier and release everyone?” Ben chuckled and said, “I may protect those on the Isle who need it, but I also protect people here as well. However, I do want to bring down the barrier. But not the way that you four want to. I am here to bring balance back to this world. That Isle should never have been created. And magic should have never been banned. Auradon has suffered like the Isle has. If you use that wand and release just your parents, then the balance will tip in darkness’ favor instead.”

Mal growled and said, “What about children like us? We have suffered over there. We deserve revenge!” Ben sighed as he noticed the others try to back away towards the wand when Ben waved his hand in the air and froze the other three, shocking Mal. “I want to free those children,” Ben said walking up to Mal. “But Auradon needs to be ready for it. Things like this just can’t happen overnight, no matter how much you want to. You were brought here to prove to the doubters that children like you need help and need to be taken off that Isle. The prince believes in you.” Mal stared hard at the masked figure in front of her. “What is your connection to the prince?” Mal asked. Ben stopped, sensing the reason why Mal asked him that. “She must have see me in this form when we touched hands,” Ben thought to himself. But he decided to trend carefully and said to Mal, “I am a guardian. I protect all of you on the Isle. I also protect others here in Auradon. The prince included. So, shouldn’t you all give what he is offering you a chance?” Mal sensed that the guardian wasn’t telling her the whole truth about his connection to Ben as she felt that there was a certain reason that he was in Ben’s head. But Mal knew that the guardian did have a point about giving Ben’s offer a chance, but the darkness in her was not happy. She scowled and chanted, “Let this man, quick as a sneeze, stop this instant, and quickly freeze!” Ben chuckled darkly and said, “Sorry. But let’s just say magic such as yours has no effect on me.” Mal’s eyes widened as Ben’s hand raised and he froze Mal in place too. 

Ben walked slowly around the four and said, “I am doing all of you a favor before you trip the alarm and alert everyone that you were here. Then they would have you all shipped back to the Isle and your parents will disown you. You all think that you are evil like they are. But are you really? I can see into all of your minds that this isn’t the case. No matter how hard you all try to hide it.” He walked up to Jay and said, “The thief who would rather put his skills to good use.” He went up to Carlos and said, “The boy who wants to be away from his mother forever and be his own man.” He walked up to Evie and said, “The princess who may want a prince but who is smarter than everything thinks she is.” He then stopped in front of Mal and said, “But you. You intrigue me most of all. The girl who is conflicted with the light and darkness inside of her. The girl who puts on a brave face so that she never shows weakness. The one who has been thinking about a certain someone even before coming here. I know all of you more than you think.” They all gasped as Mal scowled and said, “Who are you to say that to us?” Ben leaned in so his masked face was right in front of her face and whispered, “Someone who protects everyone on this planet. Someone who knows more than you will ever know. Someone who has seen things that you couldn’t possibly imagine. Someone you shouldn’t ever mess with.” Mal gulped as he pulled back and said, “But seeing as being called guardian of Auradon and the Isle is a mouthful, you can call me……Solo. Now let’s finish this conversation outside, shall we?” 

He lifted the four up using the Force and walked them all the way outside, right in front of the museum. He then dropped them to the ground as they grunted in pain standing up. Mal looked mad as she said, “Hey! You may think you’re all powerful and can stop us from getting the wand, but why should we listen to you?” Ben chuckled and said, “Trust me. This is me being nice. I am the guardian of this kingdom. That includes you four from yourselves. Now, I am letting you all go back to the school with your indignities intact and without alerting anyone that you were here tonight. But I am leaving you all with a warning. Try to come here again to try to steal the wand, and I won’t be so nice. Understand?” Carlos nodded meekly along with Evie, Mal just huffed while Jay growled, “I think I can get past you no problem. I’m a fighter and don’t need magical powers to beat you.” Ben chuckled darkly as he pulled out his lightsaber as Jay tilted his head in confusion. “I am far more than just my “magic”. I am going to give you all to the count of 5 to start running back to school before I make you. 1.” Carlos and Evie started to step back towards the direction of the school while Jay stood his ground and Mal stared at the lightsaber with curiosity, feeling like she’s seen something like it before. “2,” Ben counted as he hit the button igniting his lightsaber showing off its purple light to the four, shocking them, Mal in particular as she remembered seeing Solo in her dreams with one but with a red saber slashing through multiple things. Ben then swung his saber through the trunk of the tree next to him causing it to fall onto the ground behind him as he said, “3.” Jay and Mal then turned and ran back towards the school, Carlos and Evie following suit. Ben chuckled as he deactivated his lightsaber and put it on his belt saying, “I didn’t even have to count to 5.” 

“Impressive,” Agathe appeared next to Ben watching the four VKs as specs in the distance. “So, you’ve given a name for yourself in this form. Solo?” Ben shrugged and said, “It’s a name I detested for so long, but it’s who I am and I am embracing it. Plus, I don’t want to be called Kylo Ren ever again. Do you think they will go after the wand again?” Agathe smiled and said, “They may not come back here, but they may plan something else. In the meantime, you and others here need to help them see what you saw in their minds. That they are not evil. Especially Mal.” Ben nodded as he said, “I sensed the conflict in her. Part of her wants to be evil like Maleficent, but another part of her doesn’t. She’s been thinking about me for a while. Both prince me and spirit me. I want to help her choose the correct path.” “Don’t force the choice on her,” Agathe warned. “Just help her build that connection with you and she will make the decision on her own. Just be patient, young Skywalker.” Ben nodded as he stretched and said, “I need to get back. Tomorrow is the first day of school for me as well.” He then disappeared as Agathe looked at the tree that Ben sliced down and waved her hand, restoring the tree back to normal. “Good luck,” she said as she disappeared. 

Mal laid on her dorm room bed annoyed. She and the others ran all the way back to their dorms and went straight to their rooms. The others tried to talk to her about the guardian, who they found out calls himself Solo, but Mal just ordered them back their rooms for the night as they needed to regroup later. Evie was already fast asleep but Mal was having trouble falling asleep. She was thinking back to Solo. She was intrigued and terrified by him. He could move or stop anything by just the wave of his hand, he had that purple sword that could cut through anything, he was immune to her magic, and he could read their minds without breaking a sweat. She should have realized this after having those dreams about him. But he also knew about her developing feelings for Ben. This Solo guy seemed to be everywhere. “Whose side is he on?” Mal thought. “He says that he’s the protector of this world, but what does that mean? He’s done both good and evil, based on the dreams I had. He protects people on both sides. Why would he be in Ben’s head? Who are you Solo?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even though I said I was going to use the songs, I am not going to use all of them. As much as I love Kristen Chenoweth, I am not a fan of "Evil Like Me". The song brings everything to a halt and makes the museum scene drag a little. I get that they wanted to give their Tony Award winning actress a song to show off her soprano voice, but it doesn't work in my opinion. Honestly the first movie's soundtrack is my least favorite in my opinion. So in the future, either at the beginning or the end of the chapter, I will give you all a warning if I am planning to not use a song from the movie.


	10. Start of a New School Year

As the sun started to rise on the first day of school, Ben opened his eyes. He sat up and stretched his arms. He still felt a little tired after using astral projection to stop Mal and the other VKs from stealing the wand. He wasn’t surprised that their parents wanted them to do it, but part of him wished that they were more than what their parents wanted out of them. “It’s going to take some work,” Ben said to himself. “But I think I can help them become their true selves here. Which is not being evil.” Chewie woke up at the sound of Ben’s voice and yawned, stretching his legs. Ben chuckled and said, “Good morning, Chewie. Ready to get some exercise before my classes start for the day?” Chewie barked once, meaning yes, so Ben hopped out of bed and ran into his closet to change into workout clothes. As he came out of the closet, Leia appeared before him and said, “So, long night?” Ben nodded and said, “Yes. But I think I got my point across to them. And I threw a little intimidation in there for fun.” Leia chuckled shaking her head and said, “I’m not surprised. Your original self can be intimidating. So what’s the plan for Mal and the other kids?” “I want to show them the right path,” Ben said. “When I looked into their minds last night, I saw that a part of them wants to be something else than what their parents want them to be. And I want to help them with that. But it will take time, I know.” Leia smiled and said, “Spoken like a true prince. Now go on, you shouldn’t be late on your first day.” Ben chuckled and said, “I won’t. Bye, Mom.” Leia smiled and disappeared, merging back into Ben’s body. Ben whistled for Chewie to follow him, he never put Chewie on a leash as the dog didn’t like that, and left his room for their morning exercise.

Mal woke up in her dorm room, feeling exhausted since she didn’t get a lot of sleep. Her thoughts about Ben and Solo kept her up most of the night. Evie was waking up in her bed as she sat up and stretched saying, “That was one of the best sleeps I had ever. I love this bed. Oh, hey Mal.” Mal groaned, sitting up and looked at Evie with a dead stare. “Rough night?” Evie asked. Mal scoffed and said, “What do you think? Our plan to get the wand at the museum failed, and now that Solo guy is in the way of that goal.” “He was a little scary,” Evie admitted. “But he did say that he wants to get people off of the Isle like we do.” “Not our parents,” Mal reminded Evie. “I don’t trust him. We don’t even know who he is. We all need to be on our guard. Come on, let’s get ready and meet up with the guys. We have to go to school now, so we have to follow the rules for now until we come up with a better plan to get the wand.” Evie nodded and went over to the mirror and started to do makeup. 

Mal sighed as she stared out the window. It irked her that Solo saw right through her and knew about the conflicts she was dealing with in her mind. Did she really want to get the wand to release her mother and the other villains? Solo said that he did want to get children like her off the Isle, but that it will take time. Should she see if Auradon isn’t as bad as she thinks? And Ben intrigued her. He seemed charming like any other prince, but when they shook hands yesterday, she saw images that clearly were in his head, showing that he wasn’t the stereotypical prince that she thought he was. Why was she having dreams about him before she came to Auradon? And he caught Jay’s fist like it was nothing. He had some secrets about him that Mal was curious to find out. She felt something with them when they locked eyes with each other. But why? Shaking her head, Mal got out of bed and got ready for the first day of school. 

They met up at breakfast where Mal told everyone that they should just play by the rules until they come up with a new plan to steal the wand. Everyone agreed as Ben walked up to their table and said, “Good morning. I just wanted to wish you all luck on your first day of school. Also, if you guys need anything, just let me know. OK?” The four nodded as Ben smiled and said, “See you all later.” He stared at Mal for a few seconds before walking away, while Mal was trying to not blush.

One class that all four had together was Remedial Goodness with Fairy Godmother. The four sat bored as Fairy Godmother droned, “If someone hands you a crying baby, do you, A, curse it? B, lock it in a tower? C, give it a bottle? Or D, carve out it’s heart?” Evie raised her hand and Fairy Godmother called on her with Evie asking, “What was the second one?” “Oh,” Fairy Godmother said, “OK. Anyone else? Mal?” Mal was sketching different things in her book, the wand, Solo, other stuff for her graffiti art, when Fairy Godmother called on her. Mal looked up and said, “C, give it a bottle.” “Correct again,” Fairy Godmother said. “You are on fire, girl,” Carlos said. Mal sighed and said, “Just pick the one that doesn’t sound like any fun,” Mal said. She then thought to herself, “Or the one that doesn’t sound dark.” The others nodded as Evie said, “That makes so much sense.” 

Suddenly they heard a squeak. They looked over and saw Jane, wearing a pale blue dress with her short bob hair with blue bow walking with a clipboard up to her mother. The Core 4 looked at her intrigued, with Carlos feeling something spark in him when his eyes landed on Jane. “Hello, dear one,” Fairy Godmother said. “Hi,” Jane said. “You need to sign off on early dismissal for the coronation.” Fairy Godmother signed the clipboard as the Core 4 stared at the girl, Carlos smiling slightly and Mal looking curious. “Everyone remembers my daughter, Jane?” Fairy Godmother said. “Mom, no,” Jane said not wanting to be embarrassed by her mom. “It’s OK,” Fairy Godmother said pushing Jane to walk out. “Jane, this is everyone.” “Hi,” Jane said meekly. Her eyes landed on Carlos and she felt a spark light up in her. She gulped and said, “That’s OK, don’t mind me, as you were.” Jane then quickly walked out, Carlos turning his head seeing Jane leave the room with a lopsided smile and Mal thinking, “That girl could be useful.” 

Fairy Godmother cleared her throat making Carlos turn his head back to the front of the class and Mal focus. “Let’s continue,” Fairy Godmother said. “You find a vial of poison. Do you, A, put it in the king’s wine? B, paint it on an apple? Or C, turn it over to the proper authorities?” Evie, Carlos, and Jay put their hands up, with Jay reaching up and pulling Carlos’ hand down and Fairy Godmother called on him. “C,” Jay answered. “You turn it over to the proper authorities.” Carlos scoffed and said, “I was gonna say that!” “But I said it first!” Jay retorted. He then grabbed Carlos and put him in a headlock and said, “Come here! Come on, who said it first? Who said it first?” Fairy Godmother then shouted, “Boys!” Jay let go of Carlos as she continued, “I am gonna encourage you to use that energy on the tourney field.” “Oh, no,” Carlos said. “That’s OK. Whatever that is, we’ll pass.” Fairy Godmother gave them a look and said, “Stay here after class. I’ll have Ben come here to tell you two all about tourney.” 

Ben received a message that Fairy Godmother wanted to see him. He walked into the classroom and saw Carlos and Jay sitting down at desks. “Did something happen?” Ben asked. Fairy Godmother smiled and said, “Carlos and Jay are going to try out for tourney.” Ben smirked, having looked into the VKs’ minds and saw that Fairy Godmother was forcing them into the sport. “Great!” Ben said. “As captain of the tourney team, I’d love to have you guys. Maybe help shake us up so to speak.” Fairy Godmother beamed as she left the room as Ben turned to the two guys and said, “She’s forcing you to do this, isn’t she?” Jay and Carlos looked at each other, shocked that he figured that out, and nodded. “It’s fine,” Ben said. “How about this? Why don’t you two come with me to practice and see for yourselves? Like I said, the team needs members like you two to shake things up. Plus, I want to see what you two can do.” Carlos meekly nodded as Jay shrugged and said, “Good for a laugh, I guess.” “Great,” Ben said. “Let’s go.”

Over on the tourney field, practice was underway while cheerleading practice was happening on the sidelines. Coach Jenkins called out, “Jay, Ben, offense. Chad, you’re defense. Taylor, you’re the shooter.” He looked out to the field and saw Carlos looking confused and shouted, “Hey. Hey! Hey, you. Lost boy! Put your helmet on. Get out of the Kill Zone! Pick it up. Put it on. Two hands.” Carlos put on his helmet as Coach Jenkins blew the whistle. Ben grabbed his stick and got the ball before passing it off to a teammate and hitting the opposing player. He had to be careful not to hit too hard using his Force strength as he didn’t want to get anyone seriously hurt. As he was playing, he heard the cheerleaders cheering from the sideline, Audrey being the loudest among them. Ben rolled his eyes as he looked over and saw Jay smashing through the opposing team and got the ball. He twisted through the Kill Zone as the shooter tried to hit Jay, but Jay’s skills were no match. He then charged right at Carlos, who was playing defense, who got scared and threw his stick at Jay and held his shield up for protection. But Jay jumped onto Carlos’ shield and went for the ball. He charged at Ben who was going for the ball too, but Ben used some of his Force agility to jump over Jay, who was shocked at the skills of the prince. Ben smirked under his helmet and said, “I’m your teammate, remember? Just get the ball and shoot it into the net!” Jay grunted and got the ball and shot it into the net, scoring. He then did a victory dance as the other players looked at him with curiosity and pain, from those Jay personally charged through. The cheerleaders cheered for Jay while Audrey stood there looking angry. She didn’t like some VK coming in and taking the spotlight. Coach Jenkins blew his whistle and shouted, “Jay! Get over here!” Jay ran over and Coach Jenkins said, “What do you call that? I cal that raw talent. I thought only Prince Ben here had that. Come find me later. I’ll show you something you haven’t seen before. It’s called a rule book. Welcome to the team, son.” He looked over at Carlos and said, “Have you every thought about band?” Jay laughed at that statement as Carlos slumped his shoulders which Ben noticed. He knew that Carlos did have some athletic ability so he spoke up, “I’ll work with him, Coach.” 

Coach Jenkins nodded and said, “All right. Let’s run that again. Ben, why don’t you and Chad switch? You are on defense and Chad, you’re on offense.” Chad scoffed but complied. Ben smirked and walked Carlos back to the defense, but stopped and whispered in Jay’s ear, “Good luck trying to get past me.” Ben walked away as Jay smirked and said, “Challenge accepted.” The play started again as Jay ran from one side of the field, breezed through the Kill Zone, and got the ball. Carlos looked scared again, not wanting to go up against Jay again, but he heard Ben whisper to him, “Don’t worry. Jay won’t get past us. Watch this.” Carlos looked at Ben confused as Jay charged right up to the two. But Ben at the last moment dodged out of the way while maneuvering his stick to steal it from Jay, who stopped and looked down at his stick, not seeing the ball there. Ben held his stick up to Jay showing that he had the ball and took off running toward the other end of the field. Carlos looked at Ben in awe while Jay said, “Woah!” Ben balanced the ball on his stick, dodging players left and right with ease. He got to the Kill Zone and the shooter started firing at him, but Ben jumped and slid his way right through the zone. He then ran all the way to the other goal. He tossed the ball into the air and jumped at the perfect time, hitting the ball right into the net. Both Carlos and Jay’s jaws were open with shock as the cheerleaders cheered, Audrey being the loudest, wanting to show off that he was her betrothed. Ben took off his helmet and smiled at his teammates. Jay smirked and said, “OK. I have to admit. The prince is pretty cool.” 

........................................................................................................................................................................

The next day, Ben was leaning against the lockers, secretly watching Mal talking with Evie. “She really is the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen,” Ben thought. Suddenly he heard Audrey laughing at something. He turned and saw Audrey walking with Chad as they were discussing something. “Those two really deserve each other,” Ben thought. “Why couldn’t Audrey’s family make her marry him?” Audrey and Chad walked up to Ben as Audrey said, “Great practice, sweetie. You showed those VKs who’s better.” Ben sighed, as that wasn’t why he did what he did on the tourney field. He just wanted to have some fun and show the boys that he’s not the stereotypical prince that everyone thinks he is. But before he could say anything, Chad looked over at Mal and Evie and said, “Those kids are trouble.” Ben looked to Chad and said, “Come on, Chad. Give them a chance.” Audrey chuckled and said, “No offense, Bennybear, you’re just too trusting.” “Really?” Ben said, knowing that she didn’t know that that wasn’t entirely the case. Audrey sighed and said, “Look, I know you mom fell in love with a big nasty beast who turned out to be a prince. But with my mom, the evil fairy was just the evil fairy. That girl’s mother.” “I think you’re wrong about them,” Ben said. “They are more than what their parents are. Same with us. Audrey, I asked you to give them a chance. You aren’t even trying.” Audrey scoffed as Chad muttered, “Ouch.” Ben shook his head and said, “I have to go.” He turned to walk towards Mal as Audrey glared at his back before turning and walking in the other direction, Chad following her.” 

Mal was putting stuff away in her locker and closed it, Ben leaning up against the one next to her. “Hey!” Ben said. “Hey,” Mal replied, trying to hide her blush and look imposing on Ben, not helping the fact that he was taller than her. “How was your first day yesterday?” Ben asked. “Super,” Mal said sarcastically. “That boring, huh?” Ben asked, seeing right through Mal, who looked deep into Ben’s eyes. “First days usually are boring. It’ll pick up before you know it. Trust me.” Mal felt conflicted about the trust statement. Part of her wanted to trust Ben, but she remembered that she saw Solo in his head so she wasn’t sure if she could trust him. Ben looked at her graffiti art on her locker and said, “Nice artwork.” Mal looked surprised and said, “You’re not going to berate me for vandalizing school property?” “Someone else maybe,” Ben answered truthfully. “But me, no. I actually like your artwork. It gives these boring lockers some flavor. If you like art so much, you should do an art class. I could sign you up. What do you think?” Ben was looking directly into Mal’s eyes, making it hard for Mal to think. “He likes my artwork?” Mal thought. “You know, he really isn’t the typical prince. There’s something more about him that I can’t quite put my finger on. He definitely interests me. And I think the same is evident with him.” Just then she saw Jane carefully walking around the pair and a thought came across her brain. She looked at Ben and said, “I’ll take you up on that offer. Now, if you will excuse me.” She turned and walked away, leaving Ben standing there in awe of the girl walking away from him. He then noticed that Mal was following Jane and wondered, “She’s definitely up to something. Let’s see how this plays out.” 

Jane was in the bathroom looking at her hair when she saw Mal walk up behind her. She turned around as Mal smiled and said, “Hi. It’s Jane, right? Ah. Always loved that name. Jane.” “That’s cool,” Jane said as she tried to walk around Mal to leave. “Don’t go!” Mal shouted, but realized that she startled Jane and then said, “I guess, I was just kind of hoping to make a friend. You probably have all the friends you need though, huh?” “Kind of,” Jane said. “I do have Lonnie, Doug, and Ben, but that’s it. You seem to be friends with Ben already though, right?” Mal held back a shocked lock as she chuckled and said, “He’s the prince. And the one who brought us over here. He’s just trying to be nice.” Jane shook her head and said, “Ben’s welcoming to everyone. If there’s anyone he can’t stand, it’s those who think too highly of themselves.” “Like Audrey?” Mal asked. Jane then held her mouth tight as she probably revealed too much. “It’s OK,” Mal said. “I just assumed since Audrey seemed a little full of herself. But hey, you still have friends. I mean, with your mom bring Fairy Godmother and headmistress? I mean, not to mention your own….personality.” Jane sighed and said, “I’d rather be pretty. You’ve got great hair.” Mal looked at her own hair and got an idea and said, “You know what? I have just the thing for that.” She pulled out her spell book as Jane backed up a little and said, “Uh, magic is banned here in Auradon. I don’t think you can….” “It’s OK,” Mal said. “A little magic won’t hurt anybody. This isn’t a super big spell. Ben won’t mind. OK, it’s right here. Beware, forswear, replace the old with brand new hair.” She waved her finger as magic came out and changed Jane’s hair into a different prettier style. 

Jane looked in the mirror and was in awe. “Wow,” Mal said. “You almost don’t notice your other features anymore!” Jane then looked at Mal and said, “Do my nose!” “Oh, I can’t,” Mal said. “Like I said, this was just a little magic spell. If I do super big magic, then that might get me in trouble. Even though I have been practicing. But I bet your mom can do big magic with her wand since she’s the Fairy Godmother.” Jane sighed and said, “She doesn’t use the wand anymore. You’re right. Any big magic isn’t allowed because of the new law in place. So now my mom believes the real magic is in the books. And not the spell books, regular books with history and stuff.” Mal chuckled and said, “What a rip. You know, she used magic on Cinderella, who wasn’t even her real daughter. Doesn’t she love you?” “Well,” Jane said. “Of course she does. It’s just, you know, tough love, along with the law. Work on the inside, not the outside. You know, that sort of thing.” Jane gave a sad face when Mal shouted, “That’s the face! Yeah, and then just look as if your heart is about to break.” Mal then demonstrated and said, “Oh, Mother. I just don’t understand why you can’t make me beautiful, too.” “Would that work?” Jane asked. “Yeah,” Mal said. “It’s only affecting you so that silly law shouldn’t apply. I mean, that's what old Cindy did, right? And your mother bibbidi-bobidi-booed the living daylights out of her. And hey, if your mom does decide to, you know, break out the old wand, invite me.” Jane smiled and said, “If I can convince Mom, you’re so there.” Mal silently cheered as Jane gathered her purse and waved goodbye, walking out of the bathroom. Mal smirked to herself as she turned around to the mirror and looked at herself. “Now that’s a plan.” She saw something shimmer in the mirror. She turned around to see if anyone was there, but no one. Mal shrugged and walked out of the bathroom. The shimmer that she saw was actually the Force spirit of Padme, who Ben sent to see what Mal wanted with Jane. “Interesting,” Padme said. “Mal is trying to use that poor girl to get the wand. And no wonder Ben had me follow them into the bathroom. At least my grandson has some dignity.” She sighed and disappeared from the bathroom. 

In chemistry class, Evie was sitting next to Doug and admiring Chad from afar. “Any chance he’s in line for a throne?” Doug saw who she was staring at and sighed saying, “Chad. Prince Charming Jr. Cinderella’s son. Chad inherited the charm, but not a lot of there, there, know what I mean?” Evie looked dreamily at Chad and said, “Looks like there, there to me.” Doug sighed knowing that Evie was just going to get her heart broken as he knew that Chad was a bit of a player. Mr. Deley, the teacher, then spoke up, “Evie. Perhaps this is just review for you. So tell me, what is the average atomic weight of silver?” “Atomic weight?” Evie asked. “Well, not very much, I mean, it’s an atom, right?” She chuckled along with Chad, and Mr. Deley didn’t look impressed. He called her up to the board to write the answer. Evie secretly grabbed her mirror and went up to the board, having her mirror look up the answer as she wrote and said, “Let’s see. How do I find the average atomic weight of silver? That would be 106.905 times 0.5200, plus 108.905, times 0.4800, which, Mr. Deley, would give us 107.9 AMU. “AMU?” Doug asked himself. “I forget,” Mr. Deley said. “Always a mistake to underestimate a…” “Villain?” Evie asked. “Don’t make it again.” Evie walked back to her seat, seeing a note on her book. She opened it and it read, “Meet me under the bleachers at 3 tomorrow.” She looked up and Chad was dreamily smiling at her, so Evie dreamily smiled at him. Doug sighed at the whole situation.

Ben was working on homework in his dorm room when Padme appeared before him. “Hey, Grandmother Padme,” Ben said. “So, did you find out anything?” Padme nodded and said, “Indeed. Mal talked to Jane in the bathroom. Mal used a little magic to change Jane’s hairstyle. Is Mal going to get punished for that?” “No,” Ben said, chuckling. “I don’t think using magic to change one’s hair will get my father up in arms. He only cares about big magic. If anything happens, I’ll defend her saying that she just wanted to help a friend. Although, Jane has been having some self-doubt issues. Anyway, anything else?” “Mal wants Jane to convince her mother to bring out the wand to use magic on Jane to make her beautiful,” Padme said. “It’s just a ploy for Mal to have access to the wand. Should you do anything about it?” Ben shook his head and said, “I know Fairy Godmother. She’s not going to get her wand out for that. She wants Jane to be happy with who she is. So I’m not worried. I did connect with Carlos and Jay today. Jay made the tourney team easily and seemed impressed with my athletic skill. I am going to help Carlos tomorrow with his tourney skills. Plus I think I might be getting through to Mal. I could sense it when I talked to her earlier today. She’s starting to give in to the spark we felt. I am too. She’s so beautiful, grandmother. And she’s the kind of girl I want to hang out with, not spoiled princesses like Audrey. Speaking of, I knew that she wouldn’t give any of the VKs a chance.” 

“Speaking of Audrey,” Padme said. “Have you officially invited your betrothed to your coronation?” Ben shook his head and said, “No, I haven’t. Although Audrey seems to think that I have and is already getting the perfect coronation dress. She doesn’t know that I have to ask her in front of witnesses. Plus I can actually invite whoever I want as my date….” Ben suddenly realized why Padme asked him that. He turned to the Force spirit and said, “Grandmother, you are brilliant!” Padme smiled and said, “I know. Former Queen, remember?” Ben smiled and said, “I can ask Mal to be my date. That would give us time to get to know each other and hopefully fall in love. Then once we do, then the betrothal contract will start to weaken. It’s all coming together.” “Hold it, Ben,” Padme said. “You can’t rush love. I can see your affections for Mal growing, but I can tell that it’s not truly love just yet. Be patient. Stop thinking with your head so much. Think with your heart. It will tell you when you truly love Mal. All parts of her. Understand?” Ben sighed and nodded. “Good,” Padme said. “Now, I will let you enjoy the rest of your evening. I assume you are doing some Force training later in the secret room?” Ben nodded as Padme smiled and said, “Then I will see you later.” She then disappeared and merged back into Ben’s body. Ben sighed as he looked out the window. “When my heart tells me,” Ben thought. “I know that she’s really Rey reborn, but she doesn’t have her memories yet and she’s a new person. But I still feel the connection with her. And I know she feels it too. Can we make it grow together?” Ben sighed and turned back to his homework, still thinking of the girl that was starting to capture his heart…..


	11. VKs Fitting In

Mal woke up in the morning feeling drained. She had strange dreams all night. Some were about Ben where they were at the lake that she first started dreaming of back on the Isle. But then she had some dreams about Solo, where she saw him in a forest with a brown haired girl with 3 buns in her hair as Solo held her in place with his powers. “The girl I heard so much about,” Mal heard Solo say. She saw him wave his hand to make the girl fall unconscious as he carried her away bridal style through the forest as it burned with fire and Mal saw weird ships in the sky shooting down to the ground as she saw a dark skinned man, an old smuggler, and a giant furry thing shoot down men in white as a battle took place. She heard the three scream to the girl Solo was holding, but the sound was muffled. Mal saw Solo carry the girl into his ship as she looked down at the girl in his arms and felt that she was familiar to her. Suddenly the girl’s features shifted so now the girl looked like her. Mal jumped back in fear as the dream faded and she woke up back in her dorm room. It was early morning and Evie was sitting up looking at her with concern. “Mal?” Evie asked. “Are you OK? You were tossing and turning a lot and you screamed before you woke up. Did you have a bad dream?” Mal shook her head and said, “I’m fine. I don’t want to talk about it.” She glared at Evie, who backed off and got out of bed to start getting ready for the day. Mal sighed and looked out the window. “Why am I still having dreams about Ben at that lake?” Mal wondered. “Is he going to take me there someday? And Solo. What was going on in that forest? Why did he take that girl to his ship? And who are those three that knew her but I couldn’t hear what they were saying? And why did that girl’s face suddenly look like me?” Huffing, she got out of bed and went to the closet, shoving down the dreams she had and tried to focus on starting the new day and hoping that her plan with Jane would happen. Although, she also wished that she would interact with Ben soon and hopefully not see Solo anytime soon.

Later, Ben was down on the Tourney field with Carlos. Ben told Chewie to stay in his room as Ben still remembered that Carlos was afraid of dogs. Ben was holding a clipboard with a whistle and timer and shouted, “OK. Carlos, we’re gonna do some sprints. You ready?” Carlos nodded. But just as Ben was about to start the timer, he heard a dog barking. He looked up and saw Carlos running towards him with Dude, the campus dog, running after him. “No, wait!” Carlos shouted at the dog. Carlos ran past Ben and headed to the forest. Ben groaned and said, “Why do I have a feeling that Chewie let Dude out?” He ran after Carlos into the forest.

Carlos ran into the forest and started to climb a tree as Dude barked up at him. “No, stop!” Carlos shouted. “Carlos!” Ben shouted as he ran up to where Carlos and Dude were. “Ben?” Carlos shouted. “Ben, help me! This thing is a killer! He’s gonna chase me down and rip out my throat. This is a vicious, rabid pack animal!” Ben picked Dude up and saw into his mind that confirmed that Chewie let the dog out as Chewie had heard Dude tell him in dog speak; Chewie can understand dogs but he doesn’t speak the language, and Ben looked up at Carlos and asked, “Hey, I understand that you have a fear of dogs…” “You do?” Carlos asked. Ben nodded and asked, “But is this what your mother told you?” Carlos nodded and said, “She’s a dog expert. A dog yellerer. Why are you holding him? He’s gonna attack you!” Ben chuckled and said, “Carlos, you’ve never actually met a dog, have you?” “Of course not,” Carlos answered. “Like you said, I’m afraid of dogs. Have been my whole life.” 

Ben sighed and said, “Well, just let me introduce you to this one and we’ll go from there, OK?” Carlos meekly nodded and Ben said, “Dude, meet Carlos. Carlos, this is Dude. He’s the campus mutt.” Ben was trying to mentally encourage Carlos to come down as Carlos said, “He doesn’t look like a vicious, rabid pack animal.” Carlos slowly got down and walked to Ben with Dude in his arms and said, “Jeez. You’re a good boy, aren’t you?” Carlos carefully put his hand on Dude and started to pet him. Ben smiled and carefully handed Dude to Carlos who took him with ease. “Would you look at that?” Ben thought to himself. “Carlos is getting over his fear of dogs. He seems to be clicking with Dude.” He looked at Carlos and said, “I guess you guys have it pretty rough on the Isle.” Ben already knew that personally, but he wanted to hear it from Carlos directly. Carlos looked up and said, “Yeah, let’s just say we don’t get a lot of belly rubs.” Ben nodded. Then he got an idea and said, “You know, Dude doesn’t have a guardian to look after him. People volunteer here and there but I think he needs an official guardian. Would you like the job?” Carlos looked up at Ben with wide eyes. Then he looked down at Dude who looked at him with puppy dog eyes. Carlos smiled and said, “Yeah. I would like that.” Ben smiled and said, “Listen, I’m gonna give you two some space, yeah? You guys get to know each other and just, you know, come find me when you’re done, OK?” Carlos nodded and Ben walked away, looking back every so often and seeing the happy look on Carlos’ face as he sat and petted Dude. “Got one set on the right path,” Ben thought to himself. “Hopefully I can help the others, too.”

Over at the Tourney field, Evie met up with Chad under the Tourney bleachers. Chad looked at her and said, “Is everybody at home as pretty as you?” Evie blushed and said, “I like to think I’m the fairest of them all. How many rooms do you have in your castle?” Chad chuckled and said, “Too many to count. You really nailed that chemistry problem yesterday. You’re gonna have all the nerds in love with you.” Evie chuckled and said, “I’m not that smart.” Chad huffed and said, “Oh, come on.” “No, really, I”m not,” Evie retorted, not wanting to look like a brainy girl in front of Chad. “But I’m really good and sewing and cooking and cleaning. You know, like your mother, Cinderella. Without the ratty dress.” Evie then decided on something and pulled out her Magic Mirror and said, “See this? If I ask it where something is, it tells me.” “Are you kidding me?” He took it and asked, “Where’s my cell phone?” Nothing happened as Evie said, “It won’t work for you, silly.” Chad shrugged and said, “No biggie. My dad will just get me a new one.” Evie nodded and said, “Prince Charming. Cinderella. Fairy Godmother. Hey, I heard her wand is in some boring museum. Do they always leave it there?” Evie tried leaning in for a kiss, but Chad backed away and said, “I’d really like to talk, but I’m just swamped. Unless, if you could knock all my homework out along with yours, then maybe we could get together sometime, hang.” He handed her his book bag, which she took gleefully and said, “OK.” Chad flashed his signature smile and said, “Thanks, babe.” Chad walked away as Evie waved bye.

Suddenly Doug appeared above her in the bleachers and said, “I couldn’t help but overhear…” Evie looked up and said, “Are you stalking me?” “Technically, yes,” Doug said, swinging down and walked up to her. “I, too, have a fascination with Fairy Godmother’s wand. Which is another reason I am looking forward to the coronation. Perhaps we could sit next to each other and discuss its attributes.” Evie realized what he said and asked, “Are you saying they use it in the coronation?” Doug nodded and said, “Yes. One of the only times anyone is allowed to do magic anymore. And I am asking you out.” Evie smiled, then walked away. 

Doug leaned on the side of the bleachers and sighed. “Rough luck?” Ben said as he was walking towards Doug. “Yeah,” Doug said. “I tried to ask her to your coronation, but she didn’t reply. I think she’s too hung up with Chad.” “She’s gonna get her heart broken,” Ben said. He then got an idea of how to help Evie find the right path and said, “Hey, Doug. I bet if you stick with her, you could help her out and maybe she’ll finally see that you like her.” “Really?” Doug asked with Ben nodding. “Then I will. But I still need a date to the coronation. I know you already are going with Audrey.” “Actually,” Ben said. “I haven’t asked her. I have to officially ask the person to be my date to the coronation in front of witnesses. I haven’t found the right time to do so.” Doug thought for a moment and said, “Why not at the Tourney game this Saturday? There will be a ton of witnesses there.” Ben thought about it and said, “Yes, there would be. That’s a great idea, Doug. You’re the man.” Doug shrugged as both boys walked back toward the school.

The next day, Mal and Evie were in their dorm room with Jane, who walked up to Mal and said, “Mom said, “If a boy can’t see the beauty within, then he’s not worth it.” Can you believe it? What world does she live in?” “Auradon,” Mal answered as she was sketching in her sketchbook. She was actually liking the art class that Ben signed her up for. She smiled to herself thinking about the prince as Evie held up a dress she was working on and asked, “Mal, do you like?” Mal looked up and said, “Yeah. It’s cute. It brings out your eyes.” “I know,” Evie said. Jane meanwhile was still venting and said, “I’ll never get a boyfriend.” “Boyfriends are overrated,” Mal said, just to cover up her feelings for Ben. Jane sat on the bed and thought about the boy she saw in Remedial Goodness class a few days ago, Carlos. She felt a little spark when her eyes landed on his, but her self-doubts kept getting in the way. Evie huffed at Mal and said, “And how would you know, Mal? You’ve never had one.” Mal realized that Evie was right. Some boys back on the Isle tried to ask her out, mainly because she was one of the top dogs on the Isle, but Mal rejected all of them. She thought that maybe because deep down, she wanted an actual connection with someone, like the one she felt with Ben. But Mal looked at Evie and lied, “It’s because I don’t need one, E. They’re a waste of time.” Evie then gasped and said, “I forgot to do Chad’s homework!” She got up and ran to grab his book bag as Mal retorted, “And that is exactly what I mean.” 

Suddenly someone knocked on the door and in walked Lonnie. “Hey, Jane! I thought I would find you in here. Oh, where are my manners? I’m Lonnie. My mom’s Mulan? No? Anyways, I love what you’ve done with Jane’s hair. Even though I keep telling Jane that she is fine with the way she is, I guess giving her a new hairstyle might help her. And it looks cool. And I know you hate us, but do you think you could do mine?” Mal looked at Lonnie and asked, “Why would I do that for you? Aren’t you against magic like many people here?” Lonnie shrugged and said, “Not really. I don’t agree with that law. Jane said you were nice and Ben trusts you. So that means I trust you. Plus, I’ll pay $50.” “Good answer,” Evie said taking Lonnie’s money. “I need to buy more material. Let’s see, I’m thinking, we lose the bangs, maybe some layers, and some highlights.” “Yeah, yeah,” Lonnie said. “I want it cool. Like Mal’s.” “Really,” Evie said. “The split ends, too?” Mal glared at Evie while getting her spell book and chanted, “Beware, forswear, replace the old with cool hair.” Mal waved her finger and the spell was complete. Lonnie went to the mirror to admire her new hair. Evie sighed and said, “I know. I know. It looks like a mop on your head. You know what? Let’s cut if off. Layer it…” “No, no, no, no, no!” Lonnie interrupted. “I love it.” “You do?” Evie asked. “It’s just….” Lonnie said as she reached down and ripped her skirt. “Now I’m cool. Cooler I guess.” “Like ice,” Mal said. Jane walked to the mirror and ripped her skirt as well. But then she gasped, “What did I just do? Mom’s gonna kill me!” 

The next day, the afternoon before the Tourney game on Saturday, Jay was sitting in the bleachers with Coach Jenkins who was telling him, “I could really use a tough guy like you. The team’s a bunch of princes, if you know what I mean. Except Prince Ben. He reminds me a lot of you in a way.” “You’re telling me,” Jay agreed, as he has come to respect Ben. “Where I come from, it’s “Prepare to die, sucker!” As my father says, “The only way to win is to make sure everyone else loses! You rip…”” Coach Jenkins calmed Jay down and said, “Jay! Let me explain a team. It’s like a family.” Jay huffed and said, “You do not want to be at my house at dinner time.” Coach Jenkins sighed and said, “OK. You know how a body has a lot of different parts? The legs, elbows, ears. But they all need each other. Well, that’s what a team is. Different players who work together to win. Make any sense?” Jay thought about it then asked, “Can I be the fist?” Coach Jenkins sighed, then chuckled as he pulled out a jersey and showed it to Jay, showing him that his name was on it. 

Jay put it on and ran all the way back to the dorm. He didn’t notice that Chewie was following him. Jay ran all the way to Mal and Evie’s dorm room and opened the door, letting himself in. He didn’t close the door as he walked in and showed off his new jersey. Carlos whistled and said, “Nice!” Jay looked down at Carlos with Dude and said, “Still keeping the dog?” Carlos nodded and said, “Yeah. I’m his official guardian on campus. Thanks to Ben.” “Yeah,” Jay said. “Ben’s cool. I appreciate a guy like him, I guess.” 

Suddenly they heard a bark at the open door. All four looked over and saw Chewie standing there at the door as he walked in and his tail hit the open door and closed it. Carlos looked a little scared, but then Dude got up and trotted over to him and happily wagged his tail. Carlos smirked and said, “I guess this is a friend of Dude’s.” Mal looked at the massive dog and thought, “I wonder whose dog that is. I sense something familiar about him though. His fur reminds me of that big furry thing from my dream the other night.” 

Evie got up to pet Chewie as Jay walked over to Mal and asked, “Did you plan work with Jane? Are you going over to see the wand?” Mal sighed and said, “Do you think that I would be going through every single spell in this book if I hadn’t completely struck out?” Mal was frustrated. It seemed that plan after plan was failing. She suddenly thought about Solo and wondered if he interfered with her plan with Jane somehow. But part of her was secretly happy as well since she still felt conflicted about whether to get the wand or not. “Someone’s in a bad mood,” Carlos said. “My mom’s counting on me!” Mal retorted, trying to cover up her conflict like always. “I can’t let her down!” She flicked Carlos on the head while Jay said, “We can do this. If we stick together.” Everyone looked at each other as Mal said, “And we won’t go back until we do.” Although she secretly didn’t want to go back. She would rather stay here so that she could get to know Ben more. But she had to convince her gang that she was fully in with the plan and said, “Because we’re rotten.” “To the core,” everyone else finished. Chewie tilted his head, knowing that they were still trying to steal the wand, hence why he followed Jay. Evie then said, “Oh, yeah. I found out that Fairy Godmother blesses Ben with the wand at coronation as one of the very few times magic is allowed and we all get to go. I have nothing to wear, of course.” Mal looked up at Evie, realizing what she said. 

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Mal was still looking at Evie who asked, “What?” “Hold that thought,” Mal said as she got up to open the door. Ben was on the other side and said, “Hey, Mal. Oh, and everyone. I wanted to ask if any of you have seen….Chewie!” The large dog barked and ran up to Ben as the tall prince bent down to pet his dog. “He’s yours?” Mal asked. Ben nodded and said, “His name is Chewbacca, or Chewie for short. I’ve had him for about 10 years now. He saved me from a bandit and my dad let me keep him. He’s a good protection dog. I guess he wanted to hang out with Dude. I am sorry if he bothered any of you.” “Chewbacca,” Mal thought. “Why does that name sound familiar?” But she shook her head and said, “No. He’s been fine with us. No problem.” Ben smiled and said, “I also was wondering if you had any questions or anything that you needed.” Mal looked into Ben’s eyes and she felt their spark glow in warmth. She refocused herself and said, “Not that I know of.” Ben nodded and said, “OK. All right. Well, thanks for taking care of Chewie. If you need anything, just…” “Oh. Wait!” Mal shouted out, stopping Ben from leaving. “Um, is it true that we all get to go to your coronation?” Ben nodded and said, “Yeah, the whole school goes.” “Wow,” Mal said. “That is beyond exciting. Do you think it’s a possibility that the four of us could stand in the front row, next to the Fairy Godmother, just so we could soak up all that goodness?” Ben knew why they were asking, but decided to play along and answered, “I wish you could. Up front it’s just me, my folks, and my date.” “And your date?” Mal asked. “So Audrey.” “Actually,” Ben said. “Just date for right now since I haven’t officially asked her yet. A lot is going on and I was hoping that…” “OK, thanks, bye,” Mal interrupted as she closed the door in Ben’s face. The prince sighed and looked down at Chewie and whispered, “Let’s get back to my room. You can tell me what you heard there.” Chewie nodded and the prince and the dog walked away.

Mal turned to her gang and said, “I think it’s time that Bennyboo got himself a new girlfriend that he would be so eager to invite to the coronation. So, I need a love spell.” Carlos tossed her the book and she looked through it, trying to find a love spell. “This could actually work out to my advantage,” Mal thought. “I want to get to know him better, especially since I need to figure out his connection to Solo, and I will be able to get close to the wand. Plus, if he’s not going to act on this connection we have, then I will.” 

Ben got back to his room and said, “OK, Chewie. What did you hear?” Chewie barked several times as Ben translated in his head. “So, they are still trying to figure out how to get the wand. But they don’t seem fully into the plan as they did when they got here. That’s good to hear. Being here in Auradon and helping them find the right path is working. Mal still felt conflicted though when I talked to her and sensed her during that conversation. She feels that spark that we have and is debating whether to act upon it. It’s making the light in her try to balance out the darkness. Awesome. But when I told her about my date to the coronation, it seemed that she was developing a plan. Chewie, I think I need to shadow them tonight. See what they are up to.” Chewie barked once as Ben said, “Don’t worry. This time, I don’t want them to see me. I can be stealthy.” Chewie tilted his head as if to say, “Really?” Ben huffed and said, “Hey. Have some faith in me.”

Later that night, the Core 4 were in the kitchen making the Love Spell recipe in the form of cookies as Mal was reading out, “All right. It says that we still need one tear, and I never cry.” That statement was false as Mal cried when she was alone in her house feeling lonely. Carlos was sitting on the counter with Dude and said, “Let’s chop up some onions.” “No,” Mal said. “It says that we need one tear of human sadness. And this love potion gets the best reviews, so we have to follow it exactly.” “A tear’s a tear,” Jay said. “That’s not true, Jay,” Evie interrupted. “They both have antibodies and enzymes, but an emotional tear has more protein-based hormones than a reflex tear.” Mal beamed at Evie and said, “Listen to you.” “Yeah, I knew that,” Jay said. “Did not,” Carlos retorted. 

Mal was mixing the ingredients as the door opened and Lonnie walked through and said, “There you are, Mal! I was looking for you. You know, all the girls want you to do their hair! Even the spoiled princesses who don’t need it, in my opinion. Midnight snack, huh? Whatcha guys making?” “Nothing special,” Mal said. “Just cookies.” Lonnie stuck a finger in and licked it, despite the Core 4 shouting at her to stop. Lonnie looked at them and said, “What? I’m not gonna double dip.” “Feel anything?” Evie asked. “Yeah,” Mal agreed. “Like maybe it might be missing something?” Jay walked forward and flirted, “Hey there.” Lonnie shrugged and said, “It could use some chips.” She walked away as Jay asked, “Chips?” Mal sighed and said, “And those are?” “Chocolate chips,” Lonnie said, pulling some out and handing them to Evie. “Just the most important food group. Wait, didn’t your moms ever make you guys, like, chocolate chip cookies. Like when you’re feeling sad, and they’re fresh from the oven, with a big old glass of milk and she just makes you laugh and puts everything into perspective and…” She stopped and saw the confused looks on the VKs’ faces. “Why are you all looking at me like that?” Mal shrugged and answered, “It’s just different where we’re from.” “Yeah, I know,” Lonnie said. “I just, you know, I thought, even villains love their kids. Oh. How awful.” She shed a tear as she put her hand on Mal’s, who looked up with sadness in her eyes, wishing her mother loved her, but then she saw the tear on Lonnie’s cheek and swiped it and threw it into the bowl and said, “Yeah, well, big bummer, but we have to get these into the oven, so thank you so much for coming by. Really, really have a good night. I’ll see you tomorrow. Evil dreams.” Lonnie waved goodbye and left the kitchen. “OK,” Mal said. “Boys, cookie sheet. Evie, oven.” 

As the Core 4 were working, they didn’t notice Ben, or rather Solo, hiding in the shadows of the kitchen. He hummed to himself as he phased out of the kitchen and back to his room. He stood next to his bed where his body was sleeping and said, “So, Mal’s making a love potion? So that I can “fall in love” with her so that I can ask her as my date to the coronation? Interesting.” Suddenly Han’s Force spirit appeared next to him and said, “Kid, don’t you have to ask Audrey? Since she’s your betrothed and all?” “Nope,” Solo said. “It doesn’t state that my date has to be betrothed, engaged, married, or whatever to me. Just a date.” Han chuckled and said, “OK. But won’t the love potion not work on you? Even your new body is immune to magic like your spirit is.” “True,” Solo said as he took off his helmet. “But maybe I could use the love potion as a way to spend more time with Mal. Since she will think I’m in love with her thanks to the spell. And I can use that to officially invite her during the game tomorrow, since I have a hunch that she will want me to ingest that love potion sooner rather than later. Plus, I heard her thoughts. Part of her wants to make a move on me since I haven’t yet.” “Doesn’t she know that you’re betrothed?” Han asked. “Actually, no,” Solo said. “No one on the Isle was told. And I guess I didn’t want the Core 4 to know. I don’t want that to hold me back from building upon my connection with Mal. I want her to see past the prince and just see me. Like I was to just see her for who she is. And I am.” Han sighed and said, “Just be careful, Ben. Audrey is probably going to throw a fit and tell her family. And I bet your new parents aren’t going to be thrilled that you are going to invite the daughter of Auradon’s most hated villain.” Ben sighed and said, “You’re right, Dad. But if Mal and I develop our connection into love, then the contract will break. And my parents will back off. Audrey and her folks, I haven’t gotten that far yet.” “Just remember not to rush it,” Han said. “Trust me, it took ages for your mother to give into my affections.” Solo chuckled and said, “Dad. Really?” Han smirked and said, “Hey, I’m just saying you have the Solo gene that works every time. Just don’t blow it.” Han then disappeared as Solo sighed and said, “Well, I should call it a night. Tomorrow is going to be interesting.” He then closed his eyes and concentrated his energy. He then merged back into his sleeping body, ready for morning to come.


	12. Love Cookie

The next morning, the students were hanging around the school waiting for the Tourney game to start. Several girls that Mal did her hair spell on saw Mal at her locker and waved, as Mal waved back. She felt good inside that she was getting this much attention in a good way. She opened her locker and saw the cookie that she wanted to give to Ben. She was starting to have doubts about going through with it. Should she use magic to make their connection grow and have Ben make a move on her as well as getting a way closer to the wand? Or should she just get the courage herself and ask him out? Jay came up next to her and asked, “Are you feeling kind of weird about this? I mean, it’s not so bad here, you know. And Ben’s a cool guy. Does he really deserve to go through this?” Mal snuffed down her light and turned to Jay and said, “Are you insane? Long live evil! You’re mean! You’re awful! You’re bad news! Snap out of it!” Jay sighed and said, “Thanks, Mal. I needed that.” Mal smirked at Jay as he walked away, Mal silently glad that he bought it. She couldn’t let him know that she was having doubts too.

She turned back to her locker as Ben and Audrey walked nearby as Audrey looked at the girls that got new hairdos from Mal. “Do you think they actually paid for those?” Audrey asked. The two royals looked over and saw Jay flirting with the girls. “Hey girls. The name’s Jay. You all going to the Tourney game? Keep a lookout for number eight, all right? Scoring the winning goal.” Audrey huffed and said, “She did it to Jane’s hair, too, and Fairy Godmother’s not happy about it.” “What’s the harm?” Ben asked. “It’s not big magic.” “But it’s gateway magic!” Audrey whispered. “Yeah it’s minor now so that she won’t be punished because of the law, as she’s just doing the hair. Next thing you know it’s the lips and the legs and the clothes and then everybody looks good and then where will I be?” Ben sighed and said, “It’s not a big deal, Audrey. Mal’s using her magic to help others. Isn’t that what magic is for?” Mal overheard that comment and that made her blush inside, glad to know that Ben likes her magic. Audrey sighed and said, “I will see you at the game after my dress-fitting for the coronation, OK?” “Actually, Audrey,” Ben said. “I haven’t actually officially invited you yet. Don’t you remember?” Audrey just giggled and said, “Oh, Bennyboo. That rule is silly. We are already together forever so there’s no need to officially invite me.” Ben glared at her and said, “Yes, I actually have to.” Audrey huffed and said, “Fine. Ask me now.” “Can’t,” Ben said. “It has to be in front of witnesses.” “Fine,” Audrey said. “Ask me with our friends after the game then, OK?” Before Ben could answer, Audrey said, “I have to go. Bye, Bennyboo.” She tried to kiss him on the lips, but as always, Ben turned his head and Audrey kissed his cheek. Audrey walked away as Ben sighed to himself in frustration.

He heard Mal’s locker close behind him and Mal call out, “Hey, Bennyboo!” Ben turned around and saw Mal holding a bag with a cookie that Ben knew had the love potion in it. He walked up to her as she said, “I just made a batch of cookies. Double chocolate chip, do you want one?” Ben smiled and said, “Normally I don’t eat before a big game, but I think I’ll make an exception for you.” Mal tried to hide her blush as Ben took the bag from her and pulled the cookie out. Ben took a bite out of it and started chewing it, feeling the love potion enter his system and the Force starting to counter it. “How is it?” Mal asked, the other VKs walking toward them. “It’s good,” Ben said, starting to sweat a little as the Force was burning the love potion out of his system. “It’s great! It’s amazing! I mean, they’re chewy and, you know, they, is that walnuts? I love walnuts. I mean, you know, the chocolate, the chocolate, chocolate chips are…” Ben looked into Mal’s eyes and saw that she was waiting for the spell to kick in as he was trying to hide the fact that his body was pushing out the potion. 

“Time to make her think it worked,” Ben thought. “But not too over the top. I don’t want to embarrass myself.” He looked deep into Mal’s eyes and asked, “Mal, have you always had those little golden flecks in your eyes?” Mal looked into Ben’s eyes, glad that the love potion was working, not knowing that Ben was pretending that it was working, but noticed that his eyes had purple flickers every now and then, not knowing that it was the Force at work destroying the love potion he ingested. Jay grabbed Ben’s shoulders and asked, “How you feeling, bro?” “I feel,” Ben said. “Good. Really good. That cookie was amazing. You’re amazing, Mal. Your hair, your eyes, everything about you is amazing. Thank you.” Mal giggled with Evie looking at her funny. Ben then took Mal’s hand and asked, “Are you going to the game today? I would love it if you were there.” Mal nodded and said, “I’ll go. For you.” Ben grinned and surprised Mal by bringing her hand to his lips and kissed it, like a prince would. Both felt their spark glow brightly leaving Mal with a glowing feeling inside of her. Ben pulled away as Jay said, “Alright. Time to get Princey here to the locker room to start getting ready. Come on, Carlos. Help me with him.” Carlos and Jay pulled Ben away leaving the two girls standing there. “So,” Evie asked. “It worked?” “I think so,” Mal said. “Let’s get to the field. I did make a promise, after all.” 

The game was underway and it was tied 2 to 2, as the announcer said, “It’s a nail-biter folks. There’s 47 seconds left on the clock. We’re all tied up. The Sherwood Falcons, two. The Fighting Knights, two. What a game between Auradon’s fiercest rivals.” Jay and Carlos were sitting on the bench in their jerseys as Jay shouted, “Get ‘em, Chad.” Chad looked down at Jay and muttered, “Thanks, Jay.” Chad ran in as the announcer said, “The teams are getting into their huddles and taking up positions along the Kill Zone.” Coach Jenkins called for a switch of players and he looked back to Jay and said, “You’re up!” Jay looked over at Carlos then back at Coach Jenkins and asked, “Coach, how about my buddy here?” Carlos shook his head, “Oh, no.” “Not so sure about that,” Coach Jenkins said. But Jay persisted, “Coach, he’s been practicing with Ben. And you said yourself, a team is made up of a bunch of parts.” “Jay, I’m not that good,” Carlos tried to make Jay stop. “Well,” Jay continued, “He’s kind of like my brain.” Coach Jenkins sighed as he called another player back and turned to the two boys and said, “Get out there!” Jay turned to Carlos and said, “Don’t worry, bro. I got your back.” “How about my front?” Carlos asked. Jay pushed Carlos out to the field and ran behind him as the announcer said, “He’s bringing that hothead Jay in from the Isle of the Lost and that little guy Carlos who can barely hold a shield.” Mal and Evie were in the stands standing next to Lonnie as she smiled at the fact that her friends were going in to play. The cheerleaders, with Audrey in the front, cheered loudly, as their Knight mascot, played by Jane, cheered loudly seeing Carlos go in as her heart fluttered in excitement. Ben smirked seeing Jay and Carlos joining the game as he shouted, “Let’s finish this thing!” The rest of the team shouted in agreement as they all shouted, “Break!” 

The players from both teams got into position and the ball flew into the center where Jay got it and started running up the field. Carlos got in a big block while Jay passed the ball to Ben, who ran past the defensemen. Ben passed the ball back to Jay who then shot it at the goal, but the goal keeper blocked it. The goalkeeper threw it far but Jay jumped and caught it with his stick. He then grabbed Carlos as both boys dodged through the Kill Zone. Jay passed the ball to Carlos who then tossed the ball into the air and ducked so that Jay could jump on his shield to get the ball. Jay jumped off and passed it high to Ben, who leaped into the air, using some of his Force agility, and shot it at the goal and scored. The crowd cheered as Auradon won the game. Mal smiled but covered her ears at the loud screams next to her. The announcer shouted, “Prince Ben has won it! What an unselfish play by Jay! What a team! Incredible! And it’s the new guys, Jay and Carlos, who set up the prince for the winner. What a victory!” An absolutely wonderful end to one of the best games ever! Here they come, folks!” The team ran over to the bleachers where the cheerleaders and fans were. 

The announcer saw Ben coming over and the prince whispered, “Can I borrow your microphone for a minute?” The announcer nodded and Ben grabbed the mic and shouted, “Excuse me. Can I have your attention, please? There’s something I like to say.” The entire crowd went silent as Ben continued, “As you all know, in a couple weeks time, I will be crowned King of Auradon. I am looking forward to seeing all of you there as it will mean a lot to me. You all are what make Auradon great. And I want to invite someone to stand up with me on that special day.” Audrey smirked thinking that Ben was about to ask her. But then Ben shocked everyone when he jumped off the stage and ran to the bleachers, stopping right in front of Mal, who blushed at the moment, but remembered that she had Ben eat that love cookie. Ben took a deep breath and said, “Mal, would you go to the coronation with me?” Everyone gasped as Mal smirked and shouted, “Yes!” Ben smiled as the crowd then cheered with Audrey stomping up the stands dragging Chad with her and shouted, “What? You’re supposed to invite me.” Ben turned back to Audrey and said, “Actually, I can invite anyone I want. And I want to invite Mal. And I did it in front of witnesses. I want to spend that day with her. Understand?” Audrey growled and glared at Mal and said, “I don’t know what’s going on here, but just know that this means nothing in the end. I’ll let Bennyboo have this moment. But this isn’t the end of this. So, I am going to go with Chad, Ben, so I don’t need your pity date as I see here.” She then kissed Chad on the cheek as Evie looked heartbroken at the sight. Audrey dragged Chad away as Ben shrugged and whispered, “It’s OK, Mal. Don’t worry about her. You’re the only girl I care about.” Mal blushed as Jay walked up and said, “Come on, Ben. The whole team’s waiting for you.” Ben grabbed Mal’s hand and kissed it again saying, “I’ll see you later.” Jay dragged Ben down as the crowd cheered, celebrating the victory of the game. 

Mal looked over and saw the sad look on Evie’s face and said, “I feel really sorry for Audrey.” “You do?” Evie asked. Mal nodded secretly knowing that Ben never cared for Audrey but instead said, “I feel like if she were talented like you, and she knew how to sew and knew beauty tips, that she wouldn’t need a prince to make herself feel better about herself.” Evie chuckled and said, “I guess I am kind of talented.” “You are definitely gifted,” Mal agreed. “Thanks, M,” Evie said as the team cheered on the field as the team voted Jay the MVP and gave him the trophy and hoisted him up into the air as the announcer said, “There he is! Jay, the most valuable player! How do you like that?” 

On Monday morning, Ben woke up with a smile on his face. He was glad that he finally had an opportunity to spend time with Mal more often so that they could get to know each other and fall in love. Sure, Mal thought he was under a love potion, but Ben knew that Mal secretly had some feeling for him. He sat up and stretched looking down at Chewie and said, “Ready for a walk?” Chewie barked and leapt off the bed as Ben ran over and threw some clothes on. “So,” Ben heard Leia’s voice and turned around to see the spirit of his mother standing there. “You two are finally going to spend some time together.” “Yes,” Ben said. “But Mal thinks I am under a love potion. If that’s what it takes for me to spend time with her, then so be it.” Then Obi-Wan’s spirit appeared and said, “But you can't rely on that forever. You have to think of a way to “break” it without her suspecting anything.” “I know,” Ben said. “But if I just tell her that I’m immune to magic, how would she react?” Yoda then appeared and said, “Earn her trust, you must. Develop your relationship as nature intends, young Skywalker. I know you must hide certain things from her for now, but let you know that you can be trustworthy. I sense she wants to ask you about Solo.” “I think that too,” Ben said. “I’m still trying to find a reasonable explanation for that side of myself without revealing everything too early. I know that the Force will return her memories and Force connection when time deems it ready. But I at least want to work her into it a little. Just trust me.” Leia sighed and said, “We know, son. Anyway, what about a first date? The Enchanted Lake is always a nice spot.” “It is,” Ben said. “And if I was under a spell, then me swimming in the lake would wash away the spell. That can be a good back up plan if I need it. Good idea, Mom.” Leia smiled as the three Force spirits disappeared back into Ben as Ben left his room to walk Chewie.

Mal woke up groggy again. She had more dreams about Ben at the lake and dreams about Solo, this time him kneeling down in front of a giant ugly creature that Solo called Master. “I am really getting tired of all of these dreams,” Mal said. But last night she also started to dream more about the brown haired girl, seeing her in a hot desert scavenging giant metal things for parts that she sold to an ugly creature and trying to survive on her own. Mal felt pity for the girl and felt that she seemed similar to herself in a way. Shaking her head, she got up and threw on some clothes and snuck out of her room and went outside. She sighed to herself thinking, “Why is all of this happening to me?” 

“Hey, Mal.” Mal turned to see Ben standing there with Chewie at his side. Mal smiled and said, “Hello, Ben. And Chewie.” The dog barked and went up to her for a pet, which Mal obliged. Ben smiled and said, “How are you this morning?” “Good,” Mal said trying to hide her tiredness, which Ben could sense right away. “I was just getting some fresh air before classes start. I need to go back in to finish getting ready.” She turned when Ben asked, “Are you free for lunch today?” Mal turned and asked, “Are you asking me out on a date?” Ben shook his head and said, “Not quite. I actually want to know if you want to have lunch with me everyday this week. We could just talk about each other and get to know each other better.” Mal smiled and nodded while Ben continued, “I do also want to ask you if you want to go on a real date with me. Friday after school. My treat.” Mal blushed as she thought, “A date? With me? Mal, just relax, this is the love potion talking through Ben. Just play along.” Mal looked at Ben and said, “Of course. I would love to.” Ben smiled and said, “Great. I’ll meet you at your dorm room Friday at 3:00. OK?” Mal nodded as Ben stepped forward and grabbed her hand to kiss the back of that. “I’m looking forward to it. And to seeing you at lunch for the rest of the week.” He then called Chewie to him and walked back to his dorm room to change, leaving Mal a blushing mess.

The week went past quickly. The Core 4 were adapting to Auradon much quicker than they realized. Mal and Ben had lunch together everyday as they talked about how their days were and interests. Mal was surprised to hear that he loved sword fighting over Tourney and said that if Jay keeps it up, he would have Jay be the captain instead of himself. Mal always caught glances from Audrey who was sitting with her friends glaring at the two of them, jealous that her Bennyboo was spening quality time with the daughter of her family’s enemy. Ben always seemed to notice and redirected Mal’s attention towards him. Mal never understood how he always seemed to know what she was thinking, but that smile of his always charmed her. Lunches always were short so they both treasured each minute they had. Mal felt more and more connected with Ben after each meeting and part of her wished that maybe it was the real Ben talking and not the cookie. Carlos was loving his role as guardian of Dude and he joined Ben and Chewie for morning walks. Jay became a favorite among the Tourney team, except Chad, and grew to love the sport. 

Thursday was an interesting day for Evie as she was in chemistry class getting ready to take a test and she was looking through her bag for her Magic Mirror which was missing. Mr. Deley noticed and asked, “Looking for something?” He then held up her magic mirror and said, “Thank you, Chad.” Evie looked at Chad in horror, realizing that he ratted her out. “Why did I ever have a crush on that prince?” Evie thought. Mr. Deley continued, “It’s gratifying to see someone still respects the honor code. It will be my recommendation that you are expelled.” “Mr. Deley, I…” Evie started to say when Doug interrupted, “But that isn’t fair. Obviously she wasn’t cheating since she didn’t have that…Whatever it is.” He then glared at Evie before she could retort with a look saying, “Don’t say anything.” He turned back to Mr. Deley and said, “Maybe she needed another pencil. Please.” Mr. Deley sighed and said, “Well, if you can pass this test, I’ll return your property and let the matter drop.” Evie smiled as Mr. Deley walked away and she mouthed to Doug, “Thank you.” She then glared at Chad, who glared back, but Doug hit her arm and shook his head. Evie sighed and focused on the test.

The next day, Evie found Doug outside at a table and she snuck up on him and showed that she passed the test with a B+. She smiled and said, “For the first time it’s like I’m more than just a pretty face.” Doug chuckled and said, “A shocker, huh?” Evie chuckled and sat down next to him and said, “You were pretty great in there.” “So were you,” Doug replied. Evie looked at the test and said, “I bet I can get an “A” on the next test without the mirror.” Doug smiled and said, “Yeah. Well, maybe we can get together and we’ll hang out with…” “Yeah,” Evie interrupted. “Let’s get together.” Suddenly Mal came up to them and said, “There you are! I have been looking for you literally everywhere!” “What’s wrong?” Evie asked. “Remember,” Mal said. “Ben asked me out on…a date.” Doug smiled and muttered, “Nice,” as Evie said, “We can handle this.” She said goodbye to Doug as she walked away with Mal saying, “You’re looking a little pale.” “Well, yeah, of course,” Mal retorted. “But,” Evie said. “I can fix that with some gloss and some blush.” The girls walked away with Doug smiling to himself, happy that he’s finally connecting with Evie.

“Someone’s happy.” Doug turned to see Ben standing next to him as Doug said, “I don’t know how you can sneak up on anybody. You’re the Crown Prince.” Ben chuckled as he said, “So, you finally got through to Evie. Good for you, man.” “Thanks,” Doug said. “Chad stole her Magic Mirror and tried to have her expelled, but I stepped in and saved her. Oh, sorry, I shouldn’t have said that Evie…” “Doug,” Ben stopped Doug. “It’s OK. I know about the mirror. She’s not going to get in trouble. Don’t worry. I’m just happy she realized that she didn’t need it.” Doug smiled then said, “Wait. Shouldn’t you be getting ready for your date with Mal?” Ben chuckled and said, “I was heading back to my room to get ready when I saw you with Evie and I wanted to check in with you. So, I will head out now. See you later, Doug.” Ben got up and smiled while walking back to his room. “I hope this date goes perfectly,” Ben thought. “Our lunches together never seemed enough. I want this moment to be special.” He then ran back to his room, ready for his first date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so, I didn't include "Did I Mention". It's my least favorite song from the first movie, although the remix of "Be Our Guest" is up there to. Plus since Ben wasn't truly affected by the cookie he didn't need to have a big musical number to ask Mal to the coronation. He's more subtle than that. But I will include "If Only" next chapter. Thanks for reading!


	13. Ben and Mal's First Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! Now we finally have another song in the story, which again I don't own it. Just so you know, I am using the full version of "If Only" that is on the soundtrack. Also, if you actually listen to the full version, you can hear Ben in certain parts of the chorus. I prefer the full version to the movie version because it doesn't sound chopped up because of the editing of the song, like they did with the two counterparts in the next two movies, especially "My Once Upon a Time" from the third movie.
> 
> So this is a little bit of a shorter chapter, but I promise the next one will be longer. Enjoy!

In Mal and Evie’s dorm room, Evie had picked out an outfit for Mal to wear and was putting some blush on Mal’s cheeks. Mal sighed and said, “OK. Easy on the blush. I don’t want to scare him away. Not that I could.” “Please,” Evie replied. “My mom taught me how to apply blush before I could talk. Always use upward strokes.” Evie put the blush away and pulled out lip gloss while Mal said, “My mom was never really big on make-up tips. I never had a sister.” Evie smiled and said, “Well, now you do. We’re gonna need all the family we can get if we don’t pull this off. My mother’s not a barrel of laughs when she doesn’t get her way. Just ask Snow White. As for my dad…well, I never met him so I don’t know what he would think.” Mal stared at Evie and asked, “Are you afraid of her?” Evie sighed and said, “Sometimes. Are you afraid of your mom?” Mal sighed and said, “I just really want her to be proud of me. She gets so angry with me when I disappoint her. And, yeah, she’s my mom, so I know she loves me in her own way. I think. As for my dad….he left when I was a baby so I don’t know what he thinks.” Evie took Mal’s hand and saiid, “Moving on. Come see.” 

Evie lead Mal to the mirror and Mal looked at herself. She was surprised at her look for the date. The purple dress with the black leather jacket matches her hair and makeup well. Mal laughed and said, “I look….not hideous.” Evie smiled and said, “Not even close.” The two girls heard a knock on the door. Mal took a deep breath and thought, “You can do this. It’s just a date. With a guy you secretly like who is also under a love spell. Be brave.” Mal turned and walked to the door, opening it to see Ben on the other side, wearing a blue polo shirt, white pants, his Auradon Prep letter jacket, and was carrying two helmets. Ben smiled and said, “For the first time, I understand the difference between pretty and beautiful. I hope you like bikes.” Mal smiled and took the other helmet that Ben offered. Ben then escorted her out of the dorm while Evie closed the door, smiling.

Ben took Mal on his motorized bike that his grandfather, Maurice, gave him for his 15th birthday. Mal clung to him behind him, enjoying the scenery that Ben was driving them through. Mal’s arms were around Ben, which made the prince smile at how close she was to him. He parked next to an entrance to the forest and guided her across a bridge. He then said, “Tell me something about yourself that you’ve never told anyone.” Mal giggled and said, “Um, my middle name is Bertha.” “Bertha?” Ben asked. “Yeah,” Mal said. “Just my mom doing what she does best. Being really, really evil.” “Mine’s Florian,” Ben admitted. “Florian?” Mal giggled. “How princely. That’s almost worst.” “I mean,” Ben chuckled. “You know, it’s better than Bertha.” 

After they crossed the bridge, Ben had Mal close her eyes and guided her through the forest, making sure she didn’t trip on anything and placed her right where he wanted her. “You ready?” Ben asked. Mal nodded as Ben whispered, “Open.” Mal opened her eyes and saw a lake, the same lake from her dreams about Ben. “It’s the lake from my dreams,” Mal thought. “I was dreaming about the future?” She looked and saw a gazebo where Ben had a picnic set up. She turned to him and smiled, making Ben smile. “Go on,” Ben said. Mal nodded and walked down to the gazebo, Ben behind her thinking, “I think she likes it.”

They sat down and started eating the food Ben brought. Ben then asked, “Is this your first time?” Mal sighed and said, “We don’t really date much on the island. It’s more like gang activity.” Ben chuckled, secretly knowing that she never dated anyone before, and said, “I meant, is this your first time eating a jelly donut.” “Is it bad?” Mal asked. Ben chuckled and put his hand to her lips and said, “You got a….just a..I mean, yeah, do this.” He mimed to her to lick her lips as she had donut bits on her lips. She licked her lips and asked, “Gone?” Ben nodded as Mal said, “You can’t take me anywhere, I guess.” 

“You know,” Ben said. “I don’t know that much about you. And you don’t know much about me. So why don’t we take turns telling each other about who we are. You first.” Mal sighed and said, “Well, I turned 17 on July 31…” “Oh,” Ben said. “I turned 17 on July 30th. Our birthdays are close together.” Mal smiled and continued, “I’m an only child. And I’ve only lived in one place.” Ben smiled and said, “All of that describes me as well. That…We have so much in common already.” Mal laughed and said, “No. Trust me, we do not.” “You sure?” Ben asked. “That’s why we’re here. To get to know each other. Maybe I might surprise you.” Mal nodded then said, “I know that you’re about to be king.” Ben sighed and said, “A crown doesn’t make you a king. You know. Your mother is Mistress of Evil and my parents are the poster parents for goodness. But we’re not automatically like them. We get to choose who we’re gonna be. And right now, I can look into your eyes and I can tell you’re not evil. I can see it.” Mal was shocked at what Ben said, sensing that he was telling the truth. 

Ben smiled and said, “Let’s go for a swim.” “What?” Mal asked. “Right now?” Ben nodded as he stood up and said, “Come on.” Mal sighed and said, “I think I’m just gonna stay here. I’ll try a strawberry. I’ve literally never tried a strawberry before.” She took a bite of one and she instantly fell in love with it. Ben chuckled and said, “Don’t eat all of them.” Mal nodded as Ben walked toward the cliff side as Mal ate more and more strawberries. She turned and saw Ben in his swim trunks and waved. Mal then shouted, “Are those little crowns on your shorts?” Ben gasped as he realized, “That’s right. I dreamed about this moment. She said those exact words. I wonder if she has dreamed about this too.” He then shouted, “Maybe.” He then jumped off, splashing in the water. He could feel the magical properties of the water around him, knowing that if the love potion actually worked on him, it would be washing away right now. He swam around and then noticed Mal turned around. He then swam behind a rock and he heard Mal start to sing Ben decided to join in at different parts when his heart felt like it,

_(Mal)_

_A million thoughts in my head_

_Should I let my heart keep listening_

_“Cause up ’til now I’ve walked the line_

_Nothing lost but something missing_

_I can’t decide_

_What’s wrong, what’s right_

_Which way should I go_

_If only I knew what my heart was telling me_

_Don’t know what I’m feeling_

_Is this just a dream?_

_Ah oh, yeah_

_If only I could read the signs in front of me_

_Could find the way to who I’m meant to be_

_Ah oh, If only_

_If only_

_If only_

_Every step, every word_

_With every hour I am falling in_

_To something new, something brave_

_To someone I, I have never been_

_I can’t decide_

_What’s wrong, what’s right_

_Which way should I go_

_(Mal and Ben)_

_If only I knew what my heart was telling me_

_Don’t know what I’m feeling_

_Is this just a dream?_

_Ah oh, yeah_

_If only I could read the signs in front of me_

_I could find the way to who I’m meant to be_

_Ah oh, if only_

_Yeah_

_(Mal)_

_Am I crazy?_

_Maybe we could happen_

_Yeah_

_Will you still be with me when the magic’s all run out?_

_If only I knew what my heart was telling me_

_Don’t know what I’m feeling_

_Is this just a dream?_

_Ah oh_

_(Mal and Ben)_

_If only I could read the signs in front of me_

_I could find the way to who I’m meant to be_

_Ah oh_

_If only, yeah_

_If only, yeah_

_If only, yeah_

_If only, yeah_

_If only_

_If only ___

__“So,” Ben thought. “She can sing. Her voice sounds beautiful. She feels the same way I do. And I sang again. Man this world is weird. But is this my heart telling me that I am truly in love with her?” He suddenly heard Mal shout, “Ben?” He then heard a splash and saw Mal trying to swim out to find him and struggling. “No!” Ben thought. “She can’t swim!” He then dove down under the water and swam right up to her and picked her up bridal style and walked her back to the gazebo. She then hit him on the arm and shouted, “You scared me!” “I’m sorry,” Ben said. “I forgot that you can’t swim.” Mal looked at Ben and asked, “How did you know that?” Ben shrugged and said, “Sure you live on an island, but there’s a barrier around it, so no one can swim away. But you knew that you couldn’t swim and yet you still tried to save me.” Ben could sense that Mal truly wanted to save him, seeing the light in her balance out with her darkness to perform that deed. “Yeah,” Mal said, still a little upset. “And do you thank me? No! All I get is soaking wet!” “I apologize,” Ben said. “Thank you. It really means a lot. Here. Have this fancy rock. It’s yours. Make a wish and throw it back into the lake.” Mal was going to just chuck it in anger, but she thought about it and wished in her head, “I wish that my connection with Ben is real and that it grows.” She then chucked it into the lake and got up, shivering. Ben got up and grabbed his jacket and put it on Mal, who blushed at the gesture._ _

__Ben got himself a towel and dried himself off and sat down with Mal. He then started to weave his fingers through her hair as Mal looked at him, puzzled at the gesture. Ben gulped and said, “Um, Mal. I brought you on this date because I feel something for you. Something that I haven’t felt with anyone else. Like we are meant to be. I know that this seems a little fast, but I have feelings for you. Feelings that I hope one day can be love between us. How about you? Do you feel the same?” Mal looked at Ben and saw the spark in his eyes. She turned away and said, “I think I do. I felt this connection between us when we first met. But you were with Audrey and…” Ben sighed and said, “I should tell you something first.”_ _

__Mal turned to Ben as he said, “To tell you the truth, Audrey is my betrothed.” Mal gasped. “He’s betrothed?” Mal thought to yourself. Ben saw her panic and said, “Wait. Let me finish. Even though we are, in reality, I am against it.” “Really?” Mal asked. Ben nodded as he looked out to the lake and said, “You’ve told me things about you that no one knows. Now it’s my turn. I found out at my 7th birthday party that my parents and Audrey’s family arranged a marriage between us. I was hiding outside the door to my father’s study. When I saw it, I was horrified. It felt like my parents were selling me away like a piece of meat. And I hated the fact that I was being promised to someone I despised.” “You hate Audrey?” Mal asked. Ben nodded as he continued, “She was mean and spoiled, even back then. Plus, I was thinking about my dream girl.” Mal tilted her head in confusion as Ben chuckled and said, “You might find this crazy, but I think I’ve been dreaming about you for a long time.” “What?” Mal asked, as Ben explained, “Ever since I was little, I’ve been having dreams about a purple haired girl on the Isle, you. I didn’t realize it was you until I was older, but, I was having these dreams and I didn’t know why. But I saw that you was lonely, like me. Then I dreamed about you, at this lake. That’s why I wanted to bring you here. Because I think we were meant to come here, together. I’m sorry if that sounds creepy…”_ _

__“No!” Mal shouted. “I mean, no, you’re not crazy. To tell you the truth, I think I have been dreaming about you too. Always you at this lake. When you brought me here, I was shocked. It was like my dream was happening for real. So I guess I can relate. So, what happened after you found out about your betrothal?” Ben sighed as he said, “Well, I ran away to the forest outside my home. I didn’t care where I was going. I just wanted to get as far away as possible. From everything. From my future that was being planned out for me. I just wanted to make my own choices. And I wished that I could find you. The girl I’ve dreamed about. Then I tripped and got hurt. I got scared, not knowing what to do. Then someone came to me.” Mal stared at Ben as he continued, “A dark figure. I got scared at first, but then I heard a deep voice say that everything would be OK. That he would look out for me. And there was a woman standing next to him. I couldn’t see their faces. It’s like they were cloaked or something. Then my world went black. Next thing I knew, I was in my bed in my room back at home. I lied to my parents and said that I was just overwhelmed by my big birthday party and my parents bought it.”_ _

__Mal grinned and said, “Look at you. I guess you aren’t the stereotypical prince after all. But you don’t know who that dark man was?” Ben sighed and said, “At first, no. But over the years, I’ve always seemed to catch a glimpse from him, or whispering in my ear that I will always be protected. I asked what his name was once and he just replied, “Solo.” I bought it and he’s shown me that this world isn't black and white. He showed me the gray in between and I learned so much from him. So I guess in a way he’s my guardian or something. Weird, huh?” Mal nodded, not wanting to reveal her connection with Solo yet. She then asked, “So, then, why didn’t you try to break the betrothal with Audrey since you don’t like her?” Ben sighed and said, “I read over that document so many times and I haven't figured out how to break it. But a part of me feels that if I fall in love with someone else, maybe it will break. Now, please don’t take this the wrong way, because I am not using you in any way, but if there was someone I would rather be with and make that contract break, it would be you.” Mal gasped as Ben took her hand and said, “I care about you Mal. A lot. Like I said earlier, I hope that one day, our connection might turn into love. Do you agree?” Mal sighed and turned her head away from Ben and said, “I don’t know what love feels like.” Mal then felt Ben’s hand on her chin and turned her head towards him as he stroked her cheek with his thumb and said, “Maybe I can teach you.” Mal looked at Ben and felt her heart melt. “I hope my wish comes true,” Mal thought._ _


	14. Family Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this chapter took a few days. I wanted to make sure I got everything in that I wanted to. 
> 
> You won't see the "Be Our Guest" remix in here as I am not a fan of it. But you will see the "If Only" reprise on here. And I threw in another song from another DCOM in here. "Stand" from ZOMBIES. I like that song and it fits with what's going on. If you don't see words in italics but spaced out, then that is someone singing. And again, I don't own any of the songs. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Ben returned Mal to her dorm after their date and Ben gave Mal a kiss on the cheek before he left. He did want to kiss her on the lips, but he felt it wasn’t the right time for it. He wanted his first kiss to happen at the perfect moment. When both of them felt love for each other. Mal did tell him that she didn’t know what love felt like and he was going to show her. He walked back to his dorm as Mal leaned on her door smiling to herself. When Evie tried to ask her how it went, Mal was vague and just it that it was fine and tolerable. She hated having to lie to Evie and the boys, but she didn’t want them to know that she was having conflicts about whether to get the wand or not. She remembered that she wished for her connection with Ben to be real and she held onto that wish closely. 

Ben went back to his room and summoned his secret door to enter his secret domain. The Force spirits then appeared around him as Luke asked, “Do you think it was wise to tell her about your other self?” “That’s your first question?” Han asked. “Man, you have no romance, Luke.” “Guys!” Leia shouted. “Give Ben some space. I’m sure he has a perfectly good explanation for it and he can choose to say how his date went.” Ben sighed and said, “I know I probably shouldn’t have told her about Solo. But I could sense that she wanted to see if I knew him. I know that it was on the tip of her tongue. Her thoughts were loud and clear. I just wanted to draw suspicion away from me being Solo. And to show that Solo is not a bad guy.” “Cautious you must be, young Skywalker,” Yoda said. “Remember Agathe’s warning. Don’t force this all at once on the girl. Listen to what the Force says, you must.” “Yoda is right,” Obi-Wan said. “But telling her some truths will help sway her curiosity for now. But be warned. I feel that she and the other VKs are very observant for mortals their age. Be on your guard.” “Anyways,” Padme said. “How did your date go besides that?” Ben smiled and said, “I think it went well. Mal enjoyed all the food I brought, especially the strawberries. I should send more fresh fruit to the Isle during my monthly donations so that everyone there can enjoy them. When I was taking a swim in the lake, I heard her singing, and she has the most beautiful voice. I may have secretly joined without her noticing. Anyway, then she couldn’t find me and jumped in the water despite not knowing how to swim. From that alone, I could sense her light balancing out her darkness. She also said that she doesn't know what love feels like yet, but she feels the connection we have. And I found out that she has been dreaming about me like I have her.” “Interesting,” Anakin said. “That alone shows that the dyad is strong, even when one person hasn’t regained their Force connection. I wonder if she might also be getting visions of her past. That is probably your next goal to figure out.” Ben nodded as he held out his hand and summoned his lightsaber and said, “I’m going to work on my lightsaber skills. Any of you can join me if you wish.” 

The next couple of weeks flew by quickly. The Core 4 were becoming more and more comfortable. Jay with Tourney and was a favorite among the ladies. Carlos with Dude and getting better at Tourney. He still went on walks with Ben and Chewie every morning. Evie was spending more time with Doug as their friendship grew and Evie felt that Doug was better than any prince. And Mal loved spending time with Ben. She went on evening walks with him and Chewie as they explored different parts of the forest and their lunch dates became a tradition for them. They would talk about their interests and even some parts of their past. Both understood that there were parts of their past that they didn’t want to talk about yet. Although Mal was trying to find some way of telling Ben about how she knew Solo like he did.

Speaking of which, she was still having dreams about him at night. She would see the masked figure stare down the brown haired girl, who Mal was also having dreams about too. She saw the brown haired girl met a dark skinned man along with a small robot of white and orange, flying on a strange ship through space, and an old smuggler teaching her things, but those dreams were always fractured and she never knew what any of their names were. Mal would wake up flustered and frustrated that she kept having these dreams every other night with no reason why. She hoped that the nights she didn’t dream about the brown haired girl in space along with Solo were pleasant, however nights she didn’t dream about them she dreamed about Ben. Most of them were pleasant as Ben was with her like the lake dreams, but sometimes they were of Ben alone. Like one time she dreamed of Ben standing on his balcony looking out to the night sky singing a sad lullaby about wanting his love to come to him. Mal woke up with tears in her eyes that she quickly dried so that Evie wouldn’t notice. She never brought up the dreams to Ben as she was still scared that her connection with Ben wasn’t fully real because of the love cookie she gave him. She still clung onto the wish she made at the lake and hoped it would come true.

Two days before Ben’s coronation, Mal was having a dream where she saw the brown haired girl strapped down to a table where Solo was watching her. The brown haired girl woke up and asked, “Where am I?” “You’re my guest,” Solo answered. But Mal noticed like in her other dreams with Solo that he was wearing black as opposed to the dark grey that she saw him wearing at the museum. Mal saw the girl squirm in her restraints and ask, “Where are the others?” Solo stared at the girl and said, “You mean the murderers, traitors, and thieves you call friends? You’ll be relieved to hear that I have no idea. You still want to kill me.” The girl scoffed and said, “That’s what happens when you’re being hunted by a creature in a mask.” Solo sighed and lifted his hands to his mask and started to pull it off. But the dream abruptly ended and Mal woke up panting. She looked around and saw Evie staring at her from her bed as Mal asked, “What?” Evie gulped and said, “I think you were having a nightmare. You were tossing around a lot and you were muttering something about not knowing where you were and a creature in a mask.” Mal’s eyes widened. “Was I saying what that brown haired girl was saying in the dream with Solo?” Mal thought. Mal shook her head and said, “Don’t worry about it. Come on, we need to get ready for class. Then we need to have a meeting with the boys tonight.” Evie nodded and got out of bed to go get ready. Mal sighed and thought, “I need to forget about these dreams. The coronation is in two days and I have a wand to steal.” But then her mind went to Ben and she felt her doubts rise. Sighing, she got out of bed and got ready for school. 

Later on during Remedial Goodness class, Fairy Godmother got their attention and said, “Children, excuse me. Um, as you know, tomorrow is Family Day here at Auradon Prep. And because your parents can’t be here due to distance, we’ve arranged for a special treat.” Fairy Godmother turned around to the TV that was in the room and turned it on. Maleficent’s face appeared and said, “I don’t see anything, nor do I hear.” Maleficent backed away from the camera showing that Evil Queen, Cruella, and Jafar were there as well as Fairy Godmother had the four come up to the screen, with Carlos carrying Dude as he always had the dog in classes with him. The villains were having trouble getting visuals and sound until they found the on switch and both groups could see each other. “Evie!” Evil Queen shouted. “It’s Mommy. Look how beautiful. You know what they say, the poison apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” “Don’t you mean the weeds?” Maleficent retorted. “Who’s the old bat?” Cruella asked meaning Fairy Godmother. “This is Fairy Godmother,” Mal answered. “Still doing tricks with eggplants?” Maleficent asked. Fairy Godmother scoffed and said, “I turned a pumpkin into a beautiful carriage!” Maleficent laughed and said, “You really couldn’t give Cinderella till 1:00 a.m. I mean really. What, the hamsters had to be back on their little wheels?” The villains chuckled as Fairy Godmother huffed, “They were mice!” Mal gently took Fairy Godmother’s shoulders and whispered gentle things to the headmistress and pushed her offscreen before her mother could say anything else mean.

“Hi, Mom,” Mal said. “Mal!” Maleficent shouted. Then she shuttered, “I miss you.” Mal knew that wasn’t true as Jafar lied, “You children are never far from our thoughts.” Maleficent then sweetly asked, “How long must Mommy wait to see you?” Mal answered, “There’s a big coronation coming up. I think probably sometime after that.” “When?” Maleficent asked. “Two days from now,” Mal said. “10:00 a.m.” “You sure I can’t see you before that?” Maleficent asked. “I don’t know what I’ll do if I don’t get my hands on that magic….” Evil Queen hit her on the head and Maleficent shuttered, “You, you little nugget that I love so much.” “We love you so much,” Jafar added. “Yes,” Mal said. “I completely understand, Mother.” Cruella then pushed her head closer to the screen and said, “Carlos, is that a dog? Yes, yes, baby, I do understand. It would make the perfect size for earmuffs.” Carlos heard Dude whimper, which gave Carlos the courage to step forward and shout, “He’s the perfect size for a pet! This dog loves me and I love him! And FYI, your dog is stuffed! So, give it a rest!” Cruella gasped and pulled away from the screen as Jay pulled Carlos away from the screen. “Burn!” Jafar said. “Oh,” Cruella said to Jafar. “Why don’t you go sell a toaster, you two-bit salesman!” “People who talk to stuffed animals shouldn’t throw stones!” Jafar retorted. 

As the villains were fighting amongst themselves, Jay stepped forward and turned off the screen. Fairy Godmother sighed and said, “I’m so sorry.” “Thanks for the special treat,” Jay said. Fairy Godmother nodded as the group turned and walked out of the classroom, gathering their materials as they left. Evie stopped Mal and asked, “M? What do you think our parents are gonna do to us if we don’t pull this off?” Mal then sarcastically said, “I think they will be quietly disappointed with us, but ultimately proud of us for doing our best.” “Really?” Carlos asked, not knowing that Mal was being sarcastic. “No,” Mal said. “I think we are definite goners.” “Yeah,” Evie said as the group continued walking. 

Ben was concerned. Sure he was happy that the VKs, especially Mal, were fitting in great in Auradon, but the night before Family Day, he started to get worried. He noticed that ever since Mal did the hair spell on Jane, Jane started to hang out more with Audrey and her group of friends and not hanging out with himself, Doug, or Lonnie anymore. Lonnie was very concerned about Jane’s behavior and said that even though she liked the hair spell Mal did for her as well, she didn’t try to make herself better like Jane did and felt hurt by Jane’s actions. Audrey would always give stern glares at Ben whenever he was with Mal and he sensed that Audrey was trying to think of a plan to get Ben back, which had Ben worried, but because he was busy with other things, he couldn’t focus on what Audrey was thinking. As for the VKs, the day before, Mal wasn’t really talkative during lunch and Ben found out about the video chat with the parents Fairy Godmother set up that didn’t go very well. Ben knew that their parents were unforgiving, but now he was upset that speaking with their parents just put more darkness in them and made them remember about the wand plan. He sat on his bed in his dorm room with Chewie and sighed. “Things are going so well, Chewie,” Ben said to his dog. “But I have a feeling that something bad is about to happen. Audrey seems to be up to something and I feel that something might happen to the VKs. Especially Mal. And the Core 4 are being secretive again. I think I need to see for myself what they are thinking. Wish me luck.” Chewie barked once as Ben sat in a mediative pose and focused his energy to astral projection. Suddenly Solo stood next to the window and phased through the wall, looking for the VKs. 

The Core 4 were having a late night meeting in the boys’ room as Mal said, “OK, we all know what the wand looks like. So, we’ll be up on the dais under King Adam’s spell jar from when he was a beast, and we’ll be coming in from here. I will be in the very front. You all will be up in the balcony.” “OK,” Evie said. “Carlos?” Mal asked. Carlos nodded and said, “OK, so I’ll find our limo, so we can break the barrier and get back to the island with the wand.” “Perfect,” Mal said. “Evie?” “Yeah?” Evie asked. Mal handed her a perfume bottle and said, “You will use this to take out the driver. Two sprays and he’ll be out like a light.” Evie took the bottle and put it in her purse as the boys walked away from the table and sat on their beds. Evie looked down and saw that Mal had her spell book open to the page that stated how to break a love spell. “M?” Evie asked. “You want to break Ben’s love spell?” “Yeah,” Mal said. “You know, for after. I’ve just been thinking, you know, when the villains finally do invade Auradon, and begin to loot and kick everyone out of their castles, and imprison their leaders and destroy all that is good and beautiful, Ben still being in love with me just seems a little extra cruel.” Mal hated lying to Evie, who could tell that Mal wasn’t telling the whole truth, and she stood up and walked out of the room heading for the kitchen to make the anti-love spell. The Core 4 didn’t notice Solo hiding outside their window listening in and Solo felt his heart break a little for Mal. So he followed her.

As the night wore on, Jay couldn’t sleep. He got out of his bed and looked at the trophy he won with the Tourney team and the MVP trophy he got. “Should we really do this?” Jay thought.

Carlos kept tossing and turning all night. He looked over at Dude, who Carlos started to have wear jackets matching his. Dude whimpered and Carlos started to pet him, wishing that he would never leave this place.

Evie sat on her bed, alone since Mal wasn’t there. She pulled out her chemistry test and stared at it, feeling good that she didn’t have to hide the fact that she was smart. And she thought about Doug, who she started to feel affections for. She didn’t want to leave him. 

Mal was standing in the kitchen stirring a bowl making the anti-love potion for Ben. Her eyes were starting to tear up and she sang her sad lullaby, 

A million thoughts in my head

Should I let my heart keep listening?

I know it’s time to say goodbye

So hard to let go

Mal shed a tear that dropped into the mixing bowl. She cried softly to herself as she closed her spell book. She didn’t want to let Ben go. She wanted to keep the connection they had, but Mal wanted it to be real. 

“Nice song,” Mal heard a deep voice behind her, knowing exactly who it was. She wiped her eyes and turned to see Solo standing there in his dark grey robes and mask. Mal glared at him and said, “That was private. What are you doing here? Making sure that I break Ben’s spell? Since you are his guardian in fact.” “So,” Solo said, playing along. “Ben told you about me? How cute. Yes, even though I guard over the Isle, I also protect the prince. He told you about how he ran away. I saw that scared little boy who wanted to make his own destiny and I helped him. I showed him that there was more to this world than what his parents and everyone here is putting into everyone’s little minds. I could sense that he was the key to making this world come back into balance. So I became his guardian, in a sense. He told me about the purple haired girl who he dreamed about on that lonely island. I wanted to help him.” “So that’s why you started appearing on the Isle,” Mal realized. “He sent you.” Solo nodded, secretly glad that Mal was buying his lie for now. 

“I went to the Isle to search for you. But I also saw what was happening on the Isle. So I came back to Ben and told him. He was devastated to hear about how your life and all the lives of the children are on that island. So he wanted to get you and others over here to live a better life, away from your parents who keep pouring darkness into you. But then, I saw his dream girl and her friends trying to steal the wand because that’s what their parents want them to do. So I stepped in and stopped you. I thought it would be done after that. But no, you had to go and make a love potion to give to him because you don’t believe that your connection with him is real. Or that Ben doesn’t want to act upon it himself. Sad really, when you don’t understand the full picture. And now you want to break his heart, thinking that this isn’t real, despite your wish of wanting it to be real. You need to open your eyes. Stop listening with your mind and listen to your heart and trust the person you care so much about!” “Why do you care so much?” Mal asked. “I don’t even understand what you are.” Solo chuckled and said, “I’m more complicated than you think. But right now I am concerned about you. The girl who secretly cares about the prince but doesn’t trust that what they have between them is real. Why won’t you trust Ben?” “Because!” Mal shouted. “I have my mother whispering in my ear that I can’t mess this up! But my heart won’t get rid of this light that’s been inside of me for so long that I had to hide on the Isle so that I could survive that place. The light that keeps telling me that my place is with Ben, but my darkness doesn’t trust him yet because he has secrets of his own. Like you! Why does Ben trust you so much?” Solo sensed something was up and said, “You don’t trust me.” Mal huffed and said, “That’s what happens when you’re being hunted by a creature in a mask!” 

Solo sucked in a breath as Mal put her hand over her mouth, realizing that she just said the words that brown haired girl said in her dreams about Solo. Staring hard at Mal, Solo raised his hand towards Mal and froze her in place and asked, “Where did you hear that? You’ve seen something, haven’t you?” He then walked towards her and searched her mind, focusing all her energy on breaking down the barriers she built up and because she didn’t have her Force connection back, she couldn’t stop him at full force. Solo saw the dreams she had about him as Ben. Then he saw the dreams she had about him as Solo, and that they were actually memories of him as Kylo Ren. He saw that she was starting to have memories of her former life as Rey but didn’t know who anyone was in her dreams like he did as a child. He found what he was looking for and saw the memory of when he interrogated Rey after capturing her on Takodana.” He then lowered his hand but didn’t unfreeze her. Mal looked up at Solo with terrified eyes as Solo leaned forward and said, “You’ve been dreaming about me. Haven’t you? And you don’t understand why. Interesting. Just know this. That man you see in your dreams isn’t the man you see before you. He is long gone. Trust me on that. If you should focus on anything from those dreams, focus on the girl. You might like her better.” He turned to walk away as he let Mal unfreeze as Mal gasped several breaths and she asked, “Why am I having those dreams? About you? About her? About Ben? And why is he having dreams about me?” Solo stopped and said, “You’ll know someday. Today is not that day. Just focus on the problem in this reality. Focus on Ben. Focus on your wish.” Solo then disappeared and Mal stared out to where Solo once stood. She was trying to process what happened. She didn’t trust Solo yet, but decided to take his advice and focus on Ben. But she was going to make the anti-love potion just in case.

Solo merged back into his body and Ben opened his eyes, gasping for breath. “She’s getting the dreams,” Ben thought. “She’s starting to get some of her memories back as dreams. Just like I did before I reawakened. But why are some of them focusing on me as Kylo Ren? Those are my memories, not hers.” “Because seeing you in your Solo form triggered it,” Ben turned and saw Agathe standing at the foot of his bed. “You were the key to start the process.” Ben got out of bed and walked up to Agathe and said, “But I didn’t need a trigger for mine to start when I was 5. Why does she?” Agathe sighed and said, “Being on that island suppressed not just her magic, but the Force as well. Yes she won’t get her Force connection back until she reawakens, but you had the advantage of being around it already. She only got very limited amounts of it. She needed a push from the Force to start the process. And the Force answered through you.” “But she told me during our date that she was getting dreams about me,” Ben countered. “New me. At the lake. I thought you said she wouldn’t get any until she came here.” “I said I wasn’t sure,” Agathe answered. “But I guess when Mal was old enough, she was strong enough to start receiving dreams about you, like you were of her. These things do seem to work in mysterious ways. You were wise to not tell her the full truth yet. I know you want to, but you listened to the Force. Good job. Hopefully soon her dreams will shift to her former memories and soon she will hear the call to reawaken. Have patience, young Skywalker. Her time is coming.” 

The next day, Family Day, was off and running. Ben and the other students, minus the VKs, put together a musical treat for the parents. A remix of “Be Our Guest”. Ben wasn’t thrilled about the idea of performing a musical number, but it was for the parents so he got over it. As he and his classmates were singing, he looked up and saw Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay walking down to the festivities and Ben silently wished that today would go well. He chuckled to himself when he saw Carlos hand Dude over to Evie and he and Jay went to town on the chocolate fountain. The song ended as Ben walked over to his parents. Belle smiled and said, “That was so lovely!” Ben guided his parents to the photo spot and they got their picture taken. “So,” Adam said. “Are you here with Audrey? We do need to go over the plans for the coronation.” “Actually,” Ben said. “I came here with someone else. And she’s the person I invited to the coronation.” Adam was about to argue, but Belle glared at her husband and said, “That’s OK. It does say that you can invite whoever you want. It doesn’t have to be Audrey. Who did you invite?” 

Ben smiled, silently wishing that this would go well, and he called out, “Mal! Come here!” Adam and Belle paled a little as Mal walked over and Ben said, “I wanna introduce you to my parents.” “Hey,” Mal said, walking up and hugging Ben. Adam and Belle were shocked. Ben was actually smiling and hugging the girl like he wanted to. He didn’t seem stiff like they saw him with Audrey. Could their son have found someone he loves? Ben pulled away and put his hand in Mal’s and turned to his parents saying, “This is Mal. From the island. My date.” “Hi,” Belle said, getting over her shock and trying to be friendly, while Adam held his anger down. Mal meekly waved and said, “Hi.” Ben smiled and said, “I was thinking maybe she can join us for lunch.” “Of course,” Adam finally said, speaking in a monotone voice. “Any friend of Ben’s….” “Um,” Mal interrupted. “Sorry to interrupt, Your Majesty, but I actually came with my friends.” “Well,” Belle said. “You should invite them. Because the more the merrier!” “Sure,” Mal said smiling. “I’ll go grab them!” “Actually,” Adam interrupted. “How about a game of croquet before lunch?” “Of course,” Mal said. “Game on,” Ben said. He fist-bumped his dad before putting his arm around Mal and walked away with her whispering, “Have you played before?” “No,” Mal whispered back. “It’s OK,” Ben whispered. “I’ll teach you.” 

The game was underway and everyone was having a good time. Ben was playing with Jay and Carlos, and Ben didn’t notice that Audrey smirked to herself as she saw her grandmother walk towards Mal. “Time for everyone to see that these VKs don’t belong here,” Audrey thought. “Starting with the girl who stole my Bennyboo.” Queen Leah walked up to Mal and said, “Hello there.” Mal turned to the older lady and said, “Hi.” “Now,” Queen Leah said. “Have we met?” “No,” Mal answered. “I don’t think so. I’m new. I’m sort of like a transfer student.” Suddenly Audrey walked up to them and gave her grandmother a kiss on the cheek and said, “Hi, Grammy.” “Grammy?” Mal asked. Audrey looked at Mal and said, “Sleeping Beauty’s mother. Grammy, I don’t think you want to be talking to this girl. Unless you feel like taking another 100 year nap.” Mal looked shocked and saw a mean smirk on Audrey’s face. “You!” Queen Leah shouted at Mal, getting everyone’s attention. Ben turned and saw the mean smirk on Audrey’s face and ran over to Mal as Queen Leah asked, “How are you here? And how have you stayed so young?” “Queen Leah,” Ben interrupted. “It’s OK. Maleficent is still on the island. This is her daughter, Mal. Don’t you remember my proclamation to give the new generation a chance?” “A chance to what, Ben?” Queen Leah sneered. “Destroy us? Come on. You remember, don’t you? The poison apples. And the spells. That’s why we had magic banned and all those villains imprisoned on that island. And my daughter was raised by fairies because of your mother’s curse. So, her first words, her first steps, I missed it all!” Ben looked over at Mal who had a sad look on her face. 

Mal tried to comfort the old queen, but then Chad came in and said, “Stay away from her!” Ben growled and said, “Don’t do this, Chad.” “They were raised by their parents, Ben,” Chad said. “What do you think villains teach their kids? Huh? Kindness? Fair play? No. You, Mal. You stole the Crown Prince away from his betrothed. Did you know that Ben is promised to Audrey?” Mal glared at Chad and said, “I did.” Ben stepped in front of Mal and said, “Back off, Chad.” But Chad didn’t and pointed to the other VKs and said, “Jay, you enjoy hurting people. And Evie, you’re nothing but a gold digger and a cheater.” Evie glared at Chad while pulling out her magic mirror and said, “Mirror, mirror, in my hand, who’s the biggest jerk in the land?” It showed Chad as Evie showed the result to the arrogant prince, but Chad scoffed and pushed Evie away as Jay ran up to protect her and said, “Back off, Chad.” Evie then pulled out the perfume bottle and sprayed Chad, making him fall asleep. Other people tried to wake Chad up as Evie grabbed Mal and said, “Come on. Let’s get out of here.” Mal looked at Ben, who had a longing look on his face. But Evie dragged her and the boys away as Ben shouted, “Guys!” But the VKs kept running away.

Ben turned and saw Chad waking up on the ground as Evie only sprayed him once, not twice. King Adam and Queen Belle stood near him as Adam said, “I feared something like this would happen.” Ben got angry and shouted, “This isn’t their fault!” “No, son,” Adam replied. “It’s yours.” Ben looked shocked at his dad, startled by what he said. He looked at his mom who wanted to say something but didn’t. Adam led Belle away. Ben looked over and saw Audrey and Jane helping Chad up. Lonnie and Doug looked at Ben with sympathy. Time seemed to freeze for Ben as he felt his anger build up. His anger at Audrey for setting this up. At his dad for causing the imbalance in the world in the first place. At his mom for not speaking up. At Chad for going too far. He hated being surrounded by people that only saw things in black and white, good and evil. As time freezes around him, he started to sing his heart out, something he rarely does, 

_I wanna scream, top of my lungs_

_Not sitting back, won’t hold my tongue_

_No, some things are different than we thought_

_There’s more to life than what we’re taught_

_I’m speaking up enough’s enough_

_‘Cause I can’t go all this way_

_I gotta wake up and be brave_

_But I know I’ll face the fire if I say_

_I'm gonna stand strong_

_Nothing’s stopping me_

_I’ll be loud you’ll hear me now_

_I’m gonna stand tall_

_Take it to the top_

_I’ll be free can’t bring me down_

_So I’ll rise won’t turn back_

_I won’t hide who I am_

_I’m gonna stand_

_Done living life inside the lines_

_Following the rules and playing nice_

_I’m stepping up with all my strength_

_Even if they think it’s a mistake_

_Won’t turn my back won’t close my eyes_

_On the edge I risk it all_

_It’s worth the chance that I might fall_

_So I’m not backing down_

_Believe when I say_

_I’m gonna stand strong_

_Nothing’s stopping me_

_I’ll be loud you’ll hear me now_

_I’m gonna stand tall_

_Take it to the top_

_I’ll be free can’t bring me down_

_So I’ll rise won’t turn back_

_I won’t hide who I am_

_I’m gonna stand yeah_

_I’m gonna stand yeah_

_I’m gonna stand yeah_

_I’m gonna stand ___

__Ben took some deep breaths as Audrey let go of Chad and walked over to him and said sweetly, “Don’t you see, Bennyboo? Those villains don’t belong here with us. Now they know their place in this world. And you are back in your rightful place. With me as your future queen.” She tried to grab Ben’s hand, but he yanked it away and glared at Audrey while saying, “You planned this. Didn’t you? Just to get revenge on Mal. On me for not inviting you as my date to my coronation. You always try to get want you want, don’t you?” Audrey backed away as if she was stung. “Bennybear,” Audrey said. “This isn’t you. That girl has you under a spell or something. Well, I’m here to break it. Wake up! You belong with me! You are my betrothed!” “Enough!” Ben shouted getting everyone’s attention. Ben chuckled darkly and said, “If there’s anyone who needs to wake up, it’s you. You’re wrapped up so tight around this dream of yours of us being together forever that you can see what’s right in front of you. All you care about is yourself. You never thought about what I cared about. I went along with you for years. Then I invited those four kids, that have gone through more than you realize or will ever know, and they helped me find the courage to speak up and show how I really feel. So if this day was anyone’s fault, it’s yours.” Audrey gasped as Doug and Lonnie walked up to Ben to get him to back off, with Lonnie whispering, “It’s about time,” in his ears. Ben shook his arms away and ran after his parents, knowing that he needed to speak up to them as well. Audrey then put on a fake smile, still holding on to the delusion that Ben was hers._ _

__Ben found his parents in a side garden near the school. His parents saw their son run up to them as Adam said, “Are you here to apologize for your actions? I’ve already gotten an earful from Audrey’s family who are very upset that Audrey is not your date to your coronation. And you had to invite their enemy’s daughter of all people. What were you thinking?” “Enough!” Ben shouted, startling his dad and his mom’s eyes widened. Ben glared at his dad and said, “I need to get some things off of my chest that I have kept buried for years. First off, I don’t like Audrey. At all. She’s a mean, spoiled, arrogant, self-absorbed brat who only cares about getting whatever she wants.” “Ben!” Adam said. “How can you say that about your betrothed? Her family said that you two were getting along great as kids.” “That’s a lie,” Ben said. “Audrey lied to her family. I barely tolerated her. Did she ever tell anyone that she use to bully Jane? No.” “How dreadful,” Belle said._ _

__Ben sighed and said, “This betrothal was the real reason I ran away to the forest on my 7th birthday.” Adam and Belle looked shocked as Ben continued, “I went looking for both of you and heard voices coming from the study. The door was open a crack so I listened and heard everything. I was horrified that my parents arranged a marriage to a girl I despise. So I ran away into the forest.” “You knew,” Belle said. “You knew before we told you.” “And to think,” Ben added. “You were going to let me find out about it at the same time the kingdom of Auradon was. How messed up is that?” “Watch your tone,” Adam said but Belle put her hand on Adam’s arm and said, “Adam. Let him finish.” She nodded for her son to continue and Ben said, “So I ran away to the forest. I was so upset that I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going and I fell. Next thing I knew, I was in my bed. I lied to the two of you because I didn’t want you to find out what I heard. But I was so angry that you arranged this contract with Audrey’s family.” “But you said you would give this a chance,” Adam said. “I did,” Ben said. “For your sake. But for ten years of these arranged meetings with Audrey, I didn’t feel a spark or connection with her. I played the perfect gentleman for her and it felt like I was just living out her fantasy of the perfect couple. And not once did she ever consider my feelings. And I am the only one who pays attention in the council meetings. She hardly pays attention at all so when I ask her about them, she waves me off.” “I could have told you that,” Belle said with Adam staring at his wife. “What? I’m a good observer. And Ben seems to care more about the kingdom than Audrey does.” Ben smiled at his mom, glad that one of his parents sees the truth._ _

__Adam sighed and said, “You may have a point, Ben. But this still doesn’t explain why you invited the daughter of Maleficent as your date to your coronation.” “Because,” Ben said. “I felt a connection with her since I first saw her. I think she’s smart, funny, brave, and the most beautiful girl I have ever met. We have this spark that I can’t explain. I care about her more than I ever did Audrey.” Belle gasped and asked, “Ben. Do you love her?” Ben couldn’t answer that, as he couldn’t find the words to say and just looked at his parents with sad eyes. Belle looked at Adam with a loving stare as Adam realized what she was realizing. Adam sighed and said, “I guess I have no choice. But you are still under that contract, son. There’s nothing we can do about it. And after what happened today, I don’t know if inviting those 4 to your coronation is a good idea.” Ben growled and said, “Those 4 as you call them, they have names. Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay. Being here in Auradon has changed them. Evie is so smart and is becoming close with Doug. Carlos is Dude’s official guardian and loves that dog more than life itself. Jay is the best player on the Tourney team and has learned about teamwork. And Mal, she is the greatest person I have ever met. All of them are in fact. Mal and her friends have helped me understand that they had a rough childhood and deserved better. They are trying to make a better life for themselves. But then those people back there, like Audrey and her grandmother, judge them because of who their parents are. So you said that what just happened was my fault. Why? Because I brought them here? No, if this is anyone’s fault, it’s Audrey’s because I know that she set that fight up. And if anyone is to blame for how those kids are, it’s you, Dad. You are to blame for all of this.”_ _

__Adam felt his anger build as Ben said, “I know what you’re going to say. I get it. But I am going to change the mistakes of the past once I am king. And some of those mistakes are yours. I am going to help this world that is suffering. More than you will ever understand.” Adam was shocked at what his son said to him. Ben sighed and said, “Forget lunch. I’ll eat here. I’ll see you two tomorrow. I need to help those who are hurting right now. And I need some space from everyone that is making me angry right now.” Ben brushed past his parents and walked back toward the school. Adam turned to his wife and said, “How dare our son speak to us that way!” “Adam!” Belle said. “Now I admit, I didn’t like his tone. But he is right. Those kids have suffered. I said that they deserve a second chance. And people here, including us, aren’t giving them that. Plus, Ben is right about Audrey. I have heard through some gossip that she is not a pleasant girl. And I saw the look in Ben’s eyes when he defended Mal. He cares deeply for that girl. Maybe even loves her. Now, we are not going to say anything to Audrey’s family. But I am going to find a way for my son to get the happily ever after he wants with Mal. It’s time I use my book smarts and see if that is possible. Are you going to help or not?” Adam sighed and said, “Let me cool off for a while. I need to think about all of this. But I promise not to mention anything to Audrey’s family. You have my word.”_ _

__Ben walked all around the school looking for the VKs. He found them sulking at a table and ran up saying, “Hey, guys. How is everyone? Sorry, that was a stupid question. Listen. Forget about what just happened. All right? It was nothing. Forget about it. Let it go.” Ben saw the sad looks on everyone’s face and sighed saying, “Look. I am sorry for what happened back there. Audrey set that up as revenge on me. I should have seen it coming. So I apologize for not protecting you guys.” The four looked over at Ben, surprised that the Crown Prince of all people was apologizing to them for something he had no control over. Ben continued, “I wish that after tomorrow’s coronation that everything will be OK. I can’t guarantee that everyone will share the same worldview that I do, but I will promise that I will fight for you guys. You guys deserve a second chance here. No matter what people like Audrey feel. You aren’t your parents. You’re you.” He then knelt down and took Mal’s hand and said, “I am sorry that you had to go through that with Audrey and her grandmother. They had no right to say that stuff to you. You are more than what they think. You’re special. And that’s why I care about you.” Mal felt some tears pricking her eyes as Ben said those words to her. After what Audrey did to her, she was ready to steal the wand and have villains rule. But Ben still cared for her. But her self-doubt crept in thinking that this was the love cookie talking, despite the connection they had. Ben kissed Mal’s hand and stood up saying, “I have to go, I’m afraid. I’ll see you guys later.” He then walked away with a sad look on his face that even Mal was concerned about._ _

__Doug then walked over and said, “Listen, Evie, I wanna talk about earlier. I just…” “Doug!” Chad called out, not wanting him to sit with the VKs. Evie sighed and said, “It’s my fault, Doug. I’m so sorry.” “No,” Doug said. “It’s mine. I should have defended you against Chad. And Chad, back off. You’ve done enough damage.” Chad backed up, shocked that Doug talked him off. Evie smiled a little as Doug said, “I’m really sorry, Evie. Please forgive me.” Evie nodded as Lonnie came over and said, “I’m sorry, too. I should have tried to stop it.” Jay nodded as Carlos pet Dude quietly. Audrey then walked by them with Jane and asked Jane, “How long does she think that’s gonna last? Mal is just the bad girl infatuation.” “I guess,” Jane said, trying not to look at Carlos as she knew if she did she would falter more. She just wanted to fit it, and didn’t want to look at Doug and Lonnie who were upset that she was hanging out with Audrey. “I mean, you two are betrothed and all. So he can’t make Mal his queen.” Audrey laughed and pulled Jane away. Mal wasn’t looking at Jane so she didn’t see the look on Jane’s face who instantly regretted what she said. Mal opened her spell book and chanted, “Beware, forswear, undo Jane’s hair.” She waved her finger around and the spell was done. Audrey and all her friends started laughing at Jane. Lonnie and Doug ran over to comfort the girl despite their feelings for her behavior. Mal stood up and said, “There’s a lot more where that came from.”_ _

__“Excuse me,” Audrey said. “Who do you think you are?” Mal then walked toward Audrey and said, “I’m the girl who put those fancy hairdos on those girls’ heads. I’m the girl who actually cares about Ben and what he thinks. I’m the one who sees Ben for who he is, not just his crown. I’m the girl who is more real than you will ever be. Crown or not. And I’m the girl who can take all your perfect hairdos away.” Audrey then stepped forward and whispered, “Ben is mine. Whether you like it or not. I’m the one who will wear that crown. Not you.” Mal just smiled and said, “Does it look like I’m kidding?” She then opened her spell book as proof and Audrey and her friends, along with Chad, ran away. Lonnie and Doug led Jane away as Doug said, “See you tomorrow, Evie.” Evie waved as Mal turned toward her friends and said, “I’m really looking forward to tomorrow. Let’s grab that wand and blow this popsicle stand.” She hoped that she sounded confident to her friends, because inside, she was battling herself. The darkness in her wanted to take revenge and steal the wand and let evil rule. But her light wanted to stay with Ben and grow their connection. She walked away with her friends as she thought, “Tomorrow will be a day that no one will every forget…”_ _


	15. Coronation

Ben woke up the morning of his coronation feeling nervous. Yes he was ready to become king and make the changes he wanted to make so that he can help the children on the Isle and bring magic and balance back to Auradon, but he remembered how things went yesterday during and after Family Day. He remembered that he stood up to Audrey. He remembered he talked to his parents about how he really felt. And he remembered the sad looks on the VKs’ faces when he checked in with them after the incident. He felt the sorrow in Mal’s mind and the conflict that she was going through inside herself. He had a feeling that something was going to happen today and he wanted to be prepared for anything. He sat up and saw Agathe standing there smiling down on him. “How long have you been there?” Ben asked. “A couple minutes,” Agathe answered. “I just wanted to wish you luck today. And to warn you.” “Something’s going to happen, isn’t it?” Ben asked. Agathe sighed and said, “I couldn’t tell for sure, but I felt something good and something bad. Just be on your guard.” “Already on it,” Ben said as he jumped out of bed with Chewie hopping off with him. Agathe smiled and said, “I will also say this. Don’t think with your head today. Think with your heart. Only then will your dreams start to come true. And maybe start to reveal some truths in order to gain Mal’s trust and love.” Agathe then disappeared as Ben sighed, grabbing the chain around his neck and pulling out the Kyber crystal meant for Mal. He had never taken it off, only when he went swimming in the lake during his date with Mal and hid it amongst his clothes so Mal wouldn’t see it. He felt its power as he thought, “One day, Mal. One day I want to give you this. So that once you regain your Force connection, you can build a lightsaber of your own.” He put it back underneath his shirt and looked down at his family ring. “Perhaps,” Ben said. “I could give her something else today.” 

Over in Mal and Evie’s room, Mal woke up. She hardly slept at all worrying about how the day would go. The light and darkness inside of her were still battling inside of her that kept her awake most of the night. The only peace she had was dreaming about the brown haired girl. She took Solo’s advice and focused on her. And last night she dreamt of the girl on a small island in the sea, much like the Isle but it was filled with cliffs and greens. She saw the waves crashing onto the cliffs and saw the brown haired girl climb tall steps toward the top. She was startled when the girl turned around and seemed to stare right where Mal was standing, then Mal woke up. Evie was already awake and doing her hair and makeup. Her dress and Mal’s dress, both she made herself, were hanging in their closet. She turned around and said, “Finally, you’re awake. Come on, you need to start getting ready. I am almost done with my hair and makeup so I can help you. Hurry, let’s go.” Mal quickly got out of bed, snuffing down the dream she had, and started to get ready.

Outside the church of Auradon, crowds had gathered waiting for Prince Ben to arrive. King Adam and Queen Belle were waiting on top of the front steps. Snow White was the commentator for the Auradon News Channel, which was broadcast to the Isle where Maleficent, Evil Queen, Cruella, and Jafar were watching while eating popcorn and candy. Snow White commented, “At last, here we are, broadcasting live from the coronation, where Prince Benjamin will soon be crowned King. I’m Snow White, bringing you up to the second coverage of who’s the fairest of them all!” Evil Queen grabbed a handful of popcorn and threw it at the TV saying, “”I’m Snow White.” Who are you kidding? She’s definitely had work done.” 

Over at the church, people had gathered inside waiting for Prince Ben. Audrey was showing off her dress to Chad and her friends while standing near her parents and grandmother, who were still a little upset that Audrey was not with her betrothed. Doug, Lonnie, and Jane were standing nearby with Doug and Lonnie rolling their eyes at Audrey’s behavior with Jane feeling down about herself. Fairy Godmother was escorted to the stage as Snow White commented, “Oh. Fairy Godmother is looking radiant. But what is happening with Jane’s hair?” The camera showed Jane in her original haircut and Lonnie, seeing the camera, blocked Jane from it while giving a glare to the camera. Snow White chuckled and said, “And there is Fairy Godmother’s wand!” Fairy Godmother took a cloth off the jar and revealed her wand to the camera. Maleficent jumped off the couch and said, “I want that wand!” “Do you?” Cruella said sarcastically. “Haven’t heard.” Snow White commented, “Oh, and here comes Ben now!” 

Ben and Mal were riding in a carriage to the church as Ben, wearing his royal suit, waved to the people of Auradon. He looked over and saw Mal, wearing a beautiful purple lace dress and wearing her hair in a bun which made Ben think she looked more like Rey, looking down at a box she was holding, which Ben knew was the anti-love potion. He grabbed Mal’s hand and said, “Don’t be nervous. All you have to do is sit there and look beautiful. No problem there.” Mal looked up and smiled saying, “Thank you.” Ben took a deep breath and let go of her hand and pulled off his family ring and asked, “Mal, would you wear my ring?” “Um,” Mal said. “Not now. I think it would probably just fall right off of me. I have something for you.” “For me?” Ben said as Mal nodded and said, “It’s just for later, you know, when you need strength. Some carbs to keep up your energy.” Ben took the box and opened it, revealing a small muffin. “Always thinking,” Ben said. “But I can’t wait.” He took a bite before Mal could stop him. He felt the magic in it as the Force inside him worked quickly to get rid of it as he said, “Mmm. This is really good.” “Uh,” Mal said shocked at what he did. “Do you feel OK?” “You bet,” Ben said. Mal shuttered, “Would you say that you’re still in…that… that you have very strong feelings for me?” Ben decided to take Agathe’s advice and be truthful and said, “I’m not sure. I mean, let’s give the anti-love potion a few minutes to take effect.” 

Mal nodded, then realized what Ben said and asked, “What? You knew?” Ben chuckled and said, “That you spelled me? Yeah, Yeah, I knew.” “I’m…” Mal shuttered. “I can explain myself.” “No,” Ben said. “It’s fine. You felt this connection with me like I did with you. I was with Audrey because of that stupid contract. And you didn’t trust that this could happen on its own. That I wasn’t brave enough to act upon it. Am I right?” Mal chuckled and said, “Yes. You’re so right. So, then, how long have you known?” Ben sighed and said, “Time for me to explain some things. The truth is, I am immune to magic.” Mal gasped saying, “You are? How?” Ben shrugged and said, “Since forever I guess. But that is a truth that I kept to myself. Not even my parents know about it. And now you know. When I bit into that cookie, I could tell that it was a love potion by its magic. My body worked it out of my system quickly. Hence why it appeared that I was sweaty to you when you gave the cookie to me. And even if it worked, your spell would have been washed away when I swam in the enchanted lake.” Mal sighed in relief, then asked, “So, then what? You’ve just been faking it since then?” Ben surprised her by slipping his ring onto her finger and kissing her hand. He looked up and said, “I haven’t been faking anything. Our connection is real, Mal. Everything I told you at the lake is real. My feelings for you are real. As I know that what you said at the lake was real and truthful. I have faith in us, Mal. Do you?” Mal started to feel tears form on the corners of her eyes as she gave a smile to Ben who gave one to her in return. Ben could see in her mind that she was happy that her wish came true and that she felt the same about him. 

The carriage arrived in front of the church. Ben stepped out first and turned and took Mal’s hand to help her down. The villains on the Isle gasped at the sight as Evil Queen said, “Well, if it isn’t…” “My daughter,” Maleficent interrupted. “Looking like some kind of…” “Princess,” Snow White commented on the TV. “Now, let’s see who this beauty is wearing? Evie.” Evil Queen shot up and shouted, “Evie! That’s my…Evie!” Snow White looked at the card in her hand again and said, “Someone named Evie designed her gown.” “That’s my daughter!” Evil Queen shouted. Maleficent stood up and pushed Evil Queen back and said, “Oh, wow. She sewed a dress. Meanwhile, my girl duped a prince and she’s this close to grabbing the magic wand.” Evil Queen scoffed, “Bitter, party of one. Bitter, party of one.” Maleficent clapped her hands and said, “It’s happening, people! It’s happening! I say, gird your loins! Gird your loins! Villains, our revenge begins today.” All the villains started to laugh evilly.

Ben and Mal were walking up the steps as the fanfare played around them. They reached the top and Mal curtsied to the king and queen. Mal looked at King Adam and said, “About yesterday, I just…” Adam interrupted, “I told Ben this wasn’t going to be easy.” Ben then interrupted his dad, “You also taught me that a king has to believe in himself. Even when it isn’t easy.” “I did?” Adam asked. Queen Belle then whacked his arm and Adam said, “I…How very wise of me.” Adam was still processing what Ben said yesterday although Belle was on Ben’s side. Belle stepped forward and took his hands and said, “Ben, we are very proud of you. You keep listening to your heart.” Ben smiled, realizing that Agathe told him the same thing, and said, “Thanks, Mom.” Adam turned to Ben and said, “You’re gonna make a fine king.” Adam then took Belle’s hand and led her inside. Ben took Mal’s hand and kissed it saying, “Wish me luck.” An usher then cleared his throat and Mal took his hand, being led away. Ben chuckled as he turned towards the doors and took a deep breath. He heard the Force spirits in his head say in unison, “May the Force be with you.” Ben smiled and walked to the doors.

Inside the church, a choir was singing up in the balcony. Evie, Carlos, and Jay were standing at the front of the balcony all dressed up, and Carlos carrying Dude. The three looked at each other nervously as they were still having doubts about the plan. The doors opened and Ben started to walk down the aisle towards the center. As Ben was walking, people around him bowed and curtsied to him. He looked over and saw Mal curtsying to him and he smiled at her, making her blush. 

Over on the Isle, the villains were watching everything on the TV. “Don’t blow it, kiddo.” 

Ben reached the center where his parents and Fairy Godmother were waiting. Fairy Godmother took off the crown on Adam’s head as Ben kneeled down with Mal staring at him, her light and darkness battling within her about what to do. Fairy Godmother put the crown on Ben’s head as Adam opened the spell jar and Belle handed the wand to Fairy Godmother. Mal looked up to where her friends were then back to Ben. Fairy Godmother then said, “Do you solemnly swear to govern the peoples of Auradon with justice and mercy as long as you shall reign?”

Maleficent shouted at the TV, “Grab the thing already!” 

Ben looked up at Fairy Godmother and said in a princely voice, “I do solemnly swear.” Mal stared at the wand as Fairy Godmother said, “Then it is my honor and my joy to bless our new king.” 

As she waved her wand, someone grabbed it from her causing everyone in the audience to gasp. 

“Yes!” Maleficent and the other villains cheered. 

The wand shot out a beam that broke through the roof of the church and hit the barrier of the Isle, creating a hole. The Isle shook as it happened and Evil Queen said, “The barrier is broken! We’re free!” Maleficent opened the door to the balcony and called her scepter to her. She laughed evilly and disappeared in a puff of green smoke, heading for Auradon.

Back at the church, the one was took the wand was Jane. Fairy Godmother cried out, “Child, what are you doing?” Jane shouted, “If you won’t make me beautiful, I’ll do it myself!” Ben ran and put himself in front of Mal, so that she wouldn’t get hit with magic, since he was immune. But Mal ran past Ben and tried to take the wand from Jane with Belle shouting, “Careful, Mal.” Mal got hit was a bit of magic, but was unaffected, which surprised Ben. “She’s immune like I am,” Ben realized. “Even though she can produce her own magic, she is immune to other magic affecting her. Why didn’t I realize that?” Mal got the wand out of Jane’s hand and her three friends ran down from the balcony. Ben looked into Mal’s eyes and saw the conflict in them. “Mal,” Ben said. “Give me the wand.” Mal was unsure of what to do, she knew that he could just grab the wand quickly as he told her that magic didn’t affect him, but she heard her friends running toward her as Audrey shouted, “I told you so!” Mal pointed the wand at Audrey who stepped back with fear as her friends reached her and Carlos said, “Let’s go!” “Revenge time,” Jay added. “Do you really want to do this?” Ben asked. “We have no choice, Ben!” Mal shouted. “Our parents…” “Your parents made their choice,” Ben interrupted. “Now you make yours. I can see the conflict in your eyes.” Mal sighed and said, “I think I want to be good.” “You are good,” Ben said. “How do you know that?” Mal asked. 

“Because,” Ben said with all his heart. “I’m listening to my heart. And my heart is telling me that you are more than what your mother made you to be. You are special. You mean more to me than anyone else. And…..I love you.” Everyone gasped in the audience. Audrey stared at Ben in disbelief. Adam and Belle smiled down at their son glad that he found someone he loves. Mal stared at Ben and whispered, “You love me?” Ben nodded, some tears coming down his face, and said, “I do. With all my heart. It took some time for me to listen to my heart, but we have a connection. A real one. And that spark we felt when we first met grew into love. So I love you, Mal. I listened to my heart. Do you want to listen to yours?” Mal stared at Ben and saw that he was telling the truth as she felt their connection grow and she said, “Yes. I want to listen to my heart, too.” 

She then turned to her friends and said, “And my heart is telling me that we are not our parents. I mean, stealing things doesn’t make you happy, Jay. Tourney and victory pizza with the team makes you happy. And you Carlos, scratching Dude’s belly makes you happy. Who would’ve thought? And Evie, you do not have to play dumb to get a guy. You are so smart. And I don’t want to take over the world with evil. It doesn’t make me happy. I want to go to school. And be with Ben. Because Ben makes me really happy.” She turned to Ben and held up the hand that held his family ring and Ben smiled, glad that Mal wants to be with him. Mal cried some tears and said, “Us being friends makes me really happy. Not destroying things. I choose good, you guys.” 

She put her hand in the middle causing people in the audience to gasp with happiness. Jay then reached his hand in and said, “I choose good, too.” Evie put her hand in and said, “I choose good.” Carlos then said, “So, just to be clear, we don’t have to be worried about how really mad our parents will be? Because they’re gonna be really, really mad.” People in the audience chuckled as Ben stepped forward and said, “Your parents can’t reach you here.” Carlos put his hand in the middle and said, “OK, then. Good.” Mal giggled, then looked back at Ben and said, “Come on.” Ben walked forward and put his hand in the middle as everyone clapped, except for Audrey as she was still mad at Ben and Mal, who leaned their heads against each other.

Suddenly the room darkened as green smoke came down from the ceiling. It came between Ben and the VKs as it revealed itself to be Maleficent who shouted, “I’m back!” All the people of Auradon became frightened especially Audrey and her family. Ben glared at Maleficent as Mal said, “Go away, Mother.” Maleficent laughed and said, “She’s funny. Oh. I'm so….You’re very funny here. Wand me. Chop-chop.” “No!” Ben shouted but Mal threw the wand to Fairy Godmother who caught it and started to say the magic words, but Maleficent chuckled and raised her scepter in the air and cast a spell to freeze everyone. But Ben and the VKs remained unaffected. Ben looked around at all the frozen people, including his parents as Maleficent said, “Psyche.” She walked up and took the wand out of Fairy Godmother’s hand and said, “What to do first? How about we start with this?” She waved the wand and summoned Ben’s ring off of Mal’s finger and it landed on the wand with Maleficent shouting, “Perfect fit!” 

“No!” Ben shouted which got Maleficent’s attention. She turned to Ben and hummed, “Interesting. You didn’t freeze like everyone else. Why is that?” Ben just glared at Maleficent, who chuckled and said, “You’re not afraid of me. How foolish of you. And, oh, you love my daughter. Falling in love is weak and ridiculous. It’s not what my daughter wants. Right, Mal?” Mal then shouted, “You don’t know what I want! Mom, have you ever once asked me what I want? I’m not you!” “Obviously,” Maleficent said. “I’ve had years and years and years and years of practice being evil. You’ll get there.” “No,” Mal said. “I will not. And I really wish that you had never gotten there yourself. Love is not weak or ridiculous. It’s actually really amazing.” Maleficent growled and said, “I know one thing, young lady. You have no room for love in your life!” 

She then pointed her staff at Ben and blasted him off his feet toward the center and collided with the table holding the spell jar hard. “Ben!” Mal shouted as Maleficent cackled, “If I can’t use magic on him, then knocking him around will have to do.” Ben felt the Force working inside him to heal his injuries as Anakin said in his head, “You have to do something!” “I’m going to!” Ben hissed in his head. “I’m just going to go into a meditative state that will appear to everyone that I got knocked out so that I can use astral projection to fight against Maleficent.” “Hurry,” Luke said as Ben closed his eyes and went into a meditative state. 

Over in Ben’s dorm room, Chewie felt something in the Force telling him that Ben was in trouble. He raced to the door and opened it with his paws. He then charged out of the school and ran on his four paws to the church where Ben was.

Mal glared at her mother, angry that she hurt Ben, and shouted, “And now I command, wand to my hand!” The magic swirled around them and the wand flew out of Maleficent’s hand and into Mal’s. “It worked!” Mal shouted. “I hardly think so,” Maleficent said, looking back at Ben’s unconscious form. “Frankly, this is tedious and very immature. If you don’t give me the wand, then he will suffer!” Mal cried out, “No!” But Maleficent pointed her staff at Ben and cackled evilly. 

But as she raised her scepter, she was frozen in place. “What is happening to me?” Maleficent shuttered. Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay turned behind them and saw Solo with his hand raised toward Maleficent. “It’s Solo!” Carlos cried out. Solo glared at the dark fairy and said in his deep modulated voice, “You will not harm him. Or anyone here.” He then swung his arm and had Maleficent fly into a stone pillar, hard. Maleficent staggered to her feet and said, “You! Who do you think you are?” Solo strode forward and said, “I am the guardian of everything here in Auradon. You can call me Solo. And you are not welcome here.” “You must be the guardian that everyone talks about on the Isle,” Maleficent realized. “You will not get in my way!” She strode towards Solo and the VKs, but then Solo pulled out his lightsaber and ignited it, raising its purple beam and blocked Maleficent’s scepter from the VKs. Maleficent stared at the lightsaber and said, “What sorcery is this?” Solo smirked underneath his helmet and said, “One that you shouldn’t mess with.” 

Both of them started fighting each other, Maleficent trying to attack with her scepter, and Solo blocking with his lightsaber. Carlos and Jay stood there in awe of the amazing sword fighting ability that Solo was showing off, with Jay muttering, “Awesome.”. Solo blocked magical projectiles with his lightsaber and jumped around the church with his Force agility. Maleficent tried using her magic to throw projectiles from around the church at him but Solo used the Force to stop them with his hands and sent them flying away from the frozen people. Mal stared at Solo in awe. He knew what he was capable of thanks to the dreams of him she had. But seeing it in reality with her own two eyes was amazing. Evie whispered, “He’s amazing.” Mal nodded in agreement as Solo reflected a magical attack right back at Maleficent, hitting her and sending her backwards a few feet.

Maleficent glared at Solo as the VKs surrounded him as Solo shouted, “You four need to get out of here! Find somewhere safe.” “No!” Mal shouted. We want to help. Together we can take my mother down.” Solo looked at Mal and felt her conviction. Maleficent growled and shouted, “This is becoming tiresome. Give me the wand. Give me the wand!” Mal pointed the wand at her mother ready to attack when Carlos said, “Hold on, Mal. Maybe good really is more powerful than evil.” Maleficent laughed and said, “Oh, please! You’re killing me.” She barked at Carlos to scare him, but Carlos just stepped out of the way and Dude came charging in and jumped onto Maleficent who pushed the dog off of her. 

Suddenly she heard a deep growl as Chewie charged in from behind her, having gotten into the church through the back door, and tackled her from the ground and tried to bite at her face. Maleficent whacked Chewie with her scepter as Jay ran in to hold the scepter so that she wouldn’t attack Chewie. Solo ran up to the dog and raised his hand and send some Force energy to heal him. “Good job, Chewie,” Solo whispered so no one could hear him. “Now go guard my body.” Chewie got up and ran up to the center where Ben’s body laid. Jay was starting to have trouble holding the scepter as Maleficent cackled and said, “Gaston should be jealous.” She then sent Jay flying, but Solo caught him using the Force and brought him back down to the others. “Enough!” Maleficent shouted. Solo glared at Maleficent and shouted, “You won’t win this fight, Maleficent. Give up now!” Maleficent growled and said, “You all will regret this!” Green smoke then swirled around Maleficent and she transformed into a dragon before their eyes. Maleficent went after Jay first, who was still on the ground recovering from being attacked and he dodged the dragon’s fire and ran behind a pillar. “Come on,” Carlos shouted. “Run, Jay, run!” Jay started to run as Mal shouted, “Hurry, Jay. Hurry, hurry, hurry.” But Maleficent cornered him. But Solo then shouted, “Hey! Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?” Maleficent turned her head as Solo shocked everyone by flying up to Maleficent’s level. “He can fly?” Carlos asked. Solo floated in the air and twirled his lightsaber around saying, “Come and get me, dragon.” Maleficent roared and flew after Solo, who started flying through the pillars to confuse the dragon. Maleficent released some fire and Solo turned around and held out his hand to hold the fire back, but Maleficent kept persisting. Evie wanted to help Solo, so she pulled out her magic mirror and shouted, “Magic Mirror, show your bright light!” The light hit Maleficent and she fell to the ground. 

“Behind me, E!” Mal shouted as she pushed Evie behind her and Carlos and Jay got behind her as well. Solo landed next to Mal as Mal shouted, “Leave my friends alone! This is between you and me, Mother.” Mal then felt Solo next to her leaning down to her ear and whispering, “You not alone. We are all here with you.” Mal looked up at Solo as he stared down at her. She knew that he was right as Solo looked up at the dragon and held his hand up to keep the dragon back as Mal started to chant, “The strength of evil is good as none, when stands before five hearts as one.” Mal’s eyes were glowing green as Maleficent’s eyes were glowing green as she tried to use her magic to take Mal down with her eyes like she always did. Solo used the Force to keep the dragon from coming closer as Mal continued to chant, “The strength of evil is good as none, when stands before five hearts as one. The strength of evil is good as none, when stands before five hearts as one!” Mal and Maleficent sent all their magic at each other with their eyes. Then Mal felt someone holding her hand and that person seemed to be giving her more energy, energy that felt different yet more powerful than magic and she threw it all at Maleficent using her spell. Then Maleficent roared and seemed to disappear in a puff of smoke. Mal looked down and saw that it was Solo who was holding her hand and giving here that extra energy. She looked up at him as Solo said, “You did it. Well done, Mal.” Mal smiled and looked around at her friends who smiled back at her. 

Solo suddenly felt through the Force that Fairy Godmother was starting to reawaken from the spell so he turned to the VKs and said, “This is where I leave you for now.” “But,” Mal said as she and the others looked over and saw the smoke disappearing and Fairy Godmother coming out of the spell. “What about….” Mal and the others turned back but saw that Solo was gone. Dude ran up to Carlos and Carlos picked the dog up. Mal looked over to the center and saw Fairy Godmother awakening and starting to walk down the stairs. But then she saw Solo next to Ben. Solo sent her a mental message, “I will worry about Ben. You and the others finish up with your mother. I will see you all soon.” He then disappeared as Mal sighed in relief, when in reality Solo became invisible so that he could merge back with his body as Chewie stood guard. 

The VKs looked over and saw a tiny lizard where Maleficent was as a dragon. They ran up as Jay asked, “What just happened when you did that spell?” “I have no idea,” Mal answered, not understanding the energy that Solo gave her to help her spell, even though it felt familiar to her for some reason. “Did you do that to her?” Evie asked. “Maybe,” Mal said. “I don’t know.” “No, no, no, no.” Fairy Godmother said as both groups reached the tiny lizard. “Your mother did. She shrank to the size of the love in her heart. That’s why it’s so itty-bitty.” Mal felt that what Fairy Godmother said was only partially true, as Mal could sense her mother’s magic, but also the energy that came from Solo. “Maybe whatever power Solo has must be partially responsible for this,” Mal thought. She looked down at the lizard and asked, “Is she gonna be like that forever?” “Well,” Fairy Godmother said as she bent down. “Forever is a long time. You are learning to love. So can she.” Mal nodded and handed the wand over saying, “I believe this belongs to you.” Fairy Godmother took the wand, and saw Ben’s ring next to the lizard and picked it up saying, “And I believe this belong to you. You all have earned yourselves an “A” in Goodness class.” She handed the ring to Mal, who put it on and then shouted, “Ben!” She ran past Fairy Godmother to where Ben was with Chewie standing guard. Fairy Godmother turned around and said, “Oh my goodness. What happened to him?” Mal got to Ben and kneeled down saying, “My mother knocked him down during her attack. I think he is OK. I can feel his heart beating.” 

Mal grabbed Ben’s hand as Fairy Godmother waved her wand and shouted, “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo!” All of the frozen people woke up as everyone saw the fallen king and Belle cried out, “My baby!” She ran over and kneeled with Mal as Adam ran over and asked, “Is he alright?” Mal nodded and said, “I think so. Chewie has been guarding him when he was knocked over here.” Adam gave a pat on Chewie’s head as thanks as Ben started to stir. He opened his eyes and saw Mal staring at him and he whispered, “Mal? You’re alright?” Mal started to cry as Belle hugged Ben saying, “Oh, my boy. I’m glad to see that you’re alright.” Adam held out his hand and helped Ben to stand as Ben said, “Did you beat her?” Mal nodded and said, “We kind of got this all wrapped up here.” Ben then smiled and hugged Mal, lifting her off of the ground and twirling her around saying, “I love you so much. I’m glad that you’re safe.” He put her down and said, “Next time I rescue you, OK?” “Although I did have a part in bringing her mother down,” Ben thought in his head. Mal laughed and said, “Yeah. Let’s not let there be a next time, OK?” She then gave Ben a hug, glad that he was alright.

“Get your hands off of him!” Mal and Ben let go of each other and turned to see Audrey stomping up to the couple with her parents and grandmother behind her. “This is unacceptable!” King Phillip said. “Adam, your son is promised to my daughter. How can you allow this to happen? That girl is the daughter of our sworn enemy.” “You saw what just happened,” Queen Aurora said. “Maleficent returned and almost wiped everyone out.” Queen Leah glared at Mal and said, “That girl has no business being with my granddaughter’s betrothed!” Ben stood in front of Mal ready to defend her when Adam shouted, “Enough!” He and Belle walked down as Adam continued, “Who my son chooses to love is no business of yours. And this young lady just saved everyone here. Along with her friends. So she had my full gratitude. And my respect.” Mal smiled at Adam while Audrey huffed and said, “But he is mine!” Belle strode forward and said, “You need to watch your tone, Audrey. You are being disrespectful to your king.” Audrey stepped backwards in shock as Leah looked at everyone and said, “This isn’t over!” She then lead her crying granddaughter away while her parents were whispering sweet things into her ears to calm her with Chad and his parents following behind. Ben looked at his parents and said, “Thank you. For standing up for me and Mal.” Adam nodded and said, “You two deserve to be together. Don’t worry about those fools now. Enjoy this special day.” Ben nodded and turned back to Mal and gave her another hug whispering, “You will always be special to me,” Mal smiled as Ben pulled away.

Mal looked over at Jane and Fairy Godmother and told Ben, “I will be right back.” She walked over to Fairy Godmother, who was scolding Jane, “I love you. But you are on a major time-out.” Mal interrupted, “Don’t be too hard on Jane. She’s had a lot of crazy stuff put into her head that gave her self-doubt. And I just fueled the fire. Jane, you are beautiful inside and out. Your mom got that right.” Jane smiled and said, “I guess I did get pretty lucky in the mother department.” “Yeah,” Mal agreed. “I guess so.” Fairy Godmother then led Jane away. Mal looked back and saw ushers putting the spell jar over her mother to contain her and she shouted, “Hey! Careful! That’s my mom!” The usher back away as Jay gathered Mal, Ben, Evie, and Carlos into a group hug and said, “Well, let’s get this party started!” Everyone laughed and shouted, “Ohayhoay, hey!” 

As night fell upon Auradon, the villains on the Isle heard fireworks go off as they looked out their windows to see Auradon celebrating the start of the new king’s reign.

The students of Auradon Prep, minus Chad and Audrey as the princess was still bitter and delusional about Ben being hers and Chad was supporting her, were celebrating at the school. Ben was being carried around by his fellow students. The dance party was well underway as Ben felt a dance number about to start and he decided to give in and join it as he, the VKs, and everyone else started to sing, 

_(Everyone)_

_Ohayohay, hey_

_(Ben)_

_Kings and queens_

_It’s our time to rise_

_Write the book_

_The story of our lives_

_This is us_

_Taking back the night_

_(Mal)_

_Break the spell_

_We were born this way_

_Be yourself_

_Forget the DNA_

_Everybody_

_Raise your hands and say_

_(Everyone)_

_Ohayohay, hey_

_(Evie)_

_Sound the alarm_

_Get on your feet_

_Let’s set it off_

_And rock this beat_

_Dance till your heart_

_Is wild and free_

_Feelin’ the power_

_Let it all out_

_Like what you see_

_In the mirror, shout_

_We got the keys_

_The kingdom’s ours_

_(Everyone)_

_Ooh, oh, oh_

_Ohayohay, hey_

_Let’s set it off_

_Oh, yeah_

_Start a chain reaction_

_And never let it stop_

_Let’s set if off_

_Oh, yeah_

_You can make it happen_

_With everything you got_

_Let’s set it off_

_Get ready, set it off_

_We ‘bout to set it off_

_Get ready, set it off_

_Ohayohay, hey_

_(Carlos and Jay)_

_Yo_

_It’s time to set this thing off_

_Let’s make it happen now_

_I’ma make my own future_

_Ignore all the rumors_

_Show ‘em how passion sounds_

_They all told me I should back down_

_Judgin’ me ‘cause of my background_

_Thinkin’ ‘bout changin’ my path now_

_Nah, I ain’t goin’ out like that now_

_(Everyone)_

_Feelin’ the power_

_Let it all out_

_Like what you see_

_In the mirror, shout_

_We got the keys_

_The kingdom’s ours_

_Ooh, oh, oh_

_Ohayohay, hey_

_Let’s set it off_

_Oh, yeah_

_Start a chain reaction_

_Never let it stop_

_Let’s set it off_

_Oh, yeah_

_You can make it happen_

_With everything you got_

_Let’s set it off_

_We ‘bout to set it off_

_Get ready, set it off_

_We ‘bout to set it off_

_Get ready, set it off_

_We ‘bout to set it off_

_Get ready, set it off_

_Three, two, one_

_Oh, yeah_

_Let’s see it off_

_Oh, yeah_

_Start a chain reaction_

_Never let it stop_

_Let’s set it off_

_Oh, yeah_

_You can make it happen_

_With everything you got_

_Let’s set it off_

_Get ready, set it off_

_We ‘bout to set it off_

_Get ready, set it off_

_We ‘bout to set it off ___

__At the end of the song, Ben and Mal were standing next to each other as they looked out at the crowd. Evie was dancing with Doug, Carlos had seen Jane during the dance number sitting alone and walked over and invited her to dance and they both felt a spark ignite between them, and Jay was dancing with all the ladies as usual. Ben looked over at Mal and smiled at her, having so much love in his heart for her. Mal looked up at Ben and felt their connection glowing brightly. She felt at peace with Ben, and her light and darkness were finally balancing out. The two leaned their foreheads together. “She’s here in my arms at long last,” Ben thought. “Today starts our new future together. I know that one day she will regain her memories as Rey and her Force connection. But for now, I will wait and grow my connection with her.” In Mal’s head, she was thinking, “My wish came true. He loves me truly. I know that I am still learning about love, but I know one day that I will and I will declare it to him. I know this isn’t the end to our story.” Mal and Ben pulled away and looked out at the crowd cheering along with everyone. Mal looked out into the night and thought, “Now I just need to figure out the mystery surrounding Solo.”_ _

__Over on the Isle, Hades was sitting in his underground lair watching his TV where it was tuned into the late night celebration. He saw his daughter with the new king and Hades smiled saying, “There’s my little girl. She looks so happy. That’s a true smile that I have been waiting to see. I know that she will do me proud and free us from this place. She may have failed today, but I know she’s going to do it the right way, not her mother’s way. My little sunshine. You’re my only hope, my Rey.”_ _

__Over on another part of the Isle, Uma, daughter of Ursula, was looking out and seeing the fireworks go off in Auradon and scowling. “Curses!” Uma said. “Mal and her gang didn’t get the wand and free us! They’re goody goods now. They left us trapped here with nothing!” She threw a rock into the water that surrounding the dock. She looked into the water at her reflection. She then saw something shining under the water. She reached her hand and pulled out a gold necklace. “What is this?” Uma wondered. She looked it. The necklace had a gold chain and a gold medallion hanging off the chain. The medallion had detailed designs on it. But at the center of the medallion was a ruby shining brightly. “Pretty necklace,” Uma said as she put it on next to her mother’s shell necklace. “Maybe there’s more treasure hiding around here.” She turned and walked away, and she couldn’t hear the dark evil laugh chuckling and didn’t see a dark cloaked spirit floating in the wind, who was happy that someone found the artifact and now waited to see what events would unfold in the future._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that ends the events from the first movie. As always, I don't own any of the songs, "Set It Off" included. Now it will be a couple chapters before the events of the second movie start. So stay tuned.


	16. Aftermath

Ben woke up the next morning feeling happy. He remembered everything that happened yesterday: being crowned King, Jane taking the wand and accidentally creating a hole in the barrier surrounding the Isle of the Lost, confessing his love for Mal, the Core 4 turning good, Maleficent crashing the coronation and him fighting her as Solo along with the VKs, the five heroes banding together and turning Maleficent into a lizard, and the late night celebration. “Yesterday was a long day,” Ben said as he looked down at Chewie and petted his fur. Ben was glad that it was a Saturday so he could rest and not go to classes. But his kingly duties would start on Monday along with continuing his classes. His dad was going to ease him into the kingly duties over the next month. While Ben was at school during the day, his dad would cover for him, but in the afternoons and weekends and holidays, Ben was in charge. Ben knew that he had a lot that he wanted to do as King, but he understood that everything couldn’t happen overnight. 

He sighed as he got out of bed. He summoned the secret door to his secret room and entered. C-3PO and R2-D2 were waiting for him. “Good morning, Master Ben,” C-3PO said. “I want to offer my congratulations on your coronation.” Ben chuckled and said, “Thanks, 3PO.” R2-D2 beeped a few times as Ben said, “Yes, R2. I will still find time to visit. Now, can you pull up visuals of the barrier on the Isle?” R2 beeped and shined a light out, showing Ben the Isle and the barrier. Benn examined it and said, “The wand created a hole here. It seems to be shrinking and closing up. R2, can you run this and show me its progress over the past 24 hours?” R2 beeped and showed it to Ben. As the progress was showing, Ben saw a glimpse of something entering the hole. “R2, stop!” The robot complied and Ben stared at the footage, trying to figure out what had entered the hole in the barrier. “It looks really small. But what is it?” 

Suddenly Ben’s phone rang and Ben answered it, “Hello?” “Son,” Adam was the caller. “You need to come home for the day. Audrey and her family are here. We need to discuss the betrothal contract.” Ben sighed and said, “I’ll come right away.” Ben ended the call and put the phone away. “I’ll have to worry about this mysterious thing later. Right now, I have to head home. I am finally going to see the start of the betrothal contract ending. And I am looking forward to seeing the looks on their faces when they see the hidden section of the contract.” “Good luck, Master Ben,” C-3PO said as R2-D2 gave some beeps of encouragement. Ben nodded his thanks as he walked out the secret door back into his dorm room to get ready and head back to his home to confront Audrey and her family.

Ben was sitting in his limo as it drove him to his family’s castle. Personally he would rather hang out with Mal and her friends today, but hopefully he could later. He wished he could send her a quick text, but he remembered that none of the VKs have cell phones yet. He made a mental note to get them phones right away. He looked out the window and saw the castle just a short distance away. He hoped that the words that Agathe showed him years ago would show up and that will get Audrey’s family to back off. The limo pulled up to the front of the castle and Lumerie was there to great him, “Bonjour, King Ben. Welcome home.” “Thanks,” Ben said as he got out of the limo. Chip was standing nearby and said, “Welcome back. Do you want my mom to make you some tea?” Ben shook his head and said, “No thank you. I’d rather get all of this done and over with.” He walked inside and went straight for his father’s study.

He opened the door and his mother and father were sitting there along with Audrey and her family. The spoiled princess was grinning a fake smile when she saw Ben walk in. “Good morning, Your Majesty,” Audrey said sweetly. Ben internally rolled his eyes but said, “Good morning everyone. I am sorry to keep all of you waiting.” Queen Leah huffed but Queen Aurora jabbed her mother in the ribs to stop. Ben walked over to where his parents were sitting and sat down. “Now,” King Phillip said. “We are here to say that you are still under a betrothal contract, King Ben. You are still promised to my daughter, and yet you go behind our backs and start seeing the daughter of our most hated enemy.” “Mal,” Ben interrupted. “Her name is Mal, please start using it. And just because her mother is Maleficent doesn’t mean that she is the same as her mother. She proved that yesterday.” “Whatever the case,” Queen Leah said. “The girl who should be by your side and who should have been your date to the coronation is my granddaughter.” “I was very hurt by your actions,” Audrey added. Ben sighed but noticed that the actual contract was not in front of them and said, “Why don’t we see the contract right now?” 

Adam got up and went over to his desk and pulled out the scroll. He walked over and set it on the table and unrolled it, but everyone gasped as they saw glowing words near the bottom of the scroll. “What is this?” Phillip asked. “Those words weren’t there before,” Aurora said. Ben had to hide a smile as he knew what those words were. “I’ll read them,” Ben said. “It reads “However, if either of the betrothed find their true love and declare their love for them, their other declaring it as well, and sealing it with a kiss of true love, then this contract will become void and the betrothal will be broken.”” “What is the meaning of this?” Phillip directed at Adam, who shrugged and said, “Don’t look at me, Phillip. No one here has done any tampering of the contract.” “Then how did those words show up on it?” Leah asked. Audrey was silently fuming as Ben secretly smirked. Belle pulled out a book and opened it and said, “I have been doing some research and it states here that all contracts, especially betrothal contracts, have a hidden magical section on them that appears when certain actions that pertain to that section have been completed. So it probably didn’t appear until yesterday when Ben declared his love for Mal. I would guess that when Mal does the same and she and Ben share a true love’s kiss, the contract will become void.” Audrey growled and said, “This is impossible. That harpy must have put Ben under a love spell or something. She has her mother’s spell book and has been doing hair spells on girls at school.” “Ben,” Adam said. “Is this true?” Ben answered, “I was never under any love spell. I acted on my own volition. It just took some courage to build up in me to ask Mal to be my date for the coronation, as it states in the rules that I can invite whomever I want. And Mal’s use of magic to change girls’ hairstyles is very low level magic that won’t get her arrested. Mal and I have gotten to know each other and we built a connection to each other. When we meet, we felt a spark that grew and grew. I can’t deny that and neither can she. I feel more for Mal after only knowing her for a month than I do for Audrey who I have gotten to know over ten years. It is love at first sight.” 

Audrey started to tear up as Aurora sighed and asked, “Where do we go from here? Can we get a magical person to confirm this hidden section of the contract? And if it is true, then what happens?” “I say,” Leah interrupted. “That this contract is still viable.” “What?” Ben asked. “She does have a point,” Adam said. “Only part of the section has occurred. It will only become void when Mal declares her love for Ben and the two share a true love’s kiss. Until that happens, the contract is still valid. Do you agree, Ben?” Ben sighed, realizing that his dad was right. “I agree,” Ben said. “However, I will not have anyone pressuring Mal with this. I want her to grow her feelings for me into love on her own. She is still learning about love after having been denied it all her life. I will be patient with her. But I have faith that before my 18th birthday when I have to be officially engaged, she will declare her love for me and we will share true love’s kiss. If I hear of anyone trying to get in the way of myself and Mal, there will be consequences. Am I clear?” Audrey’s family nodded with Audrey glaring at Ben but nodding as well. Ben smiled and said, “Good. Now, there are some things that I need to go take care off. Safe travels home. Mother, father, I will see you soon.” He walked out of the study and back outside to his limo to go back to Auradon Prep.

After Ben left, Leah looked at Adam and Belle and asked, “Are you two really going to support this? This is insane!” Belle glared at Leah and said, “I will support my son in anything he does. Even if we don’t agree with it. But I have faith in Ben. He is listening to his heart.” Adam nodded his head in agreement and said, “I think this concludes this meeting. I will contact Fairy Godmother to confirm this magical writing and then we will wait on Ben. I will back my son up in saying that there will be consequences if anyone tries to get between him and Mal.” Audrey’s family nodded as they rose and Audrey struggled to hold back tears. Leah put her arms around Audrey’s shoulders and escorted her out of the room, followed by Phillip. Aurora waited until her family was out of earshot and said, “I will make sure my family will respect Ben’s wishes. I believe in true love more than anyone. And I must apologize for everything my family has caused over the years. I know my daughter is disappointed that the future she dreamed of will wither away but she needs to learn that the future isn’t set in stone. I know my mother has put a lot in her head to make her believe that she was suppose to be the future queen but I will try to help my daughter move on. I believe she is secretly wishing for Ben and Mal’s relationship to fail. And that breaks my heart.” Belle and Adam looked at each other and Belle said, “I am sorry too. And I wish you and your family the best.” Aurora nodded her thanks and walked out the door to join the rest of her family. 

Ben arrived back to Auradon Prep and immediately went looking for Mal and the other VKs. He wanted to talk to them all day and he felt that they should talk about what happened yesterday. He checked her dorm room first but no one was there. He checked Carlos and Jay’s dorm room, but they weren’t there. He searched the whole campus before he found the Core 4 hanging out at the Tourney field where Mal and Evie were sitting on the bleachers and Carlos and Jay were playing one on one Tourney because Jay wanted to help Carlos get better like Ben did. Ben walked up the bleachers as Mal noticed him and said, “Ben. I’m surprised you found us here.” Ben smiled and said, “I was looking for you guys everywhere. I wanted to talk to all of you.” Carlos and Jay ran over and sat down with the group as Ben asked, “How are all of you feeling?” The Core 4 shrugged as Jay said, “Good. Just relaxing after the crazy day we had yesterday.” “Good to hear,” Ben said. “Though I feel we should talk about what happened after I got knocked out by Maleficent.” 

The VKs looked at each other as Mal noticed the hesitation on her friends’ faces and said, “It’s OK, guys. Ben knows about Solo.” Evie, Carlos, and Jay’s heads snapped over to her as Ben chuckled and said, “Yeah. Solo is kind of my guardian I guess. He rescued me when I was little and has been watching over me ever since.” “But he’s the guardian of the Isle, too,” Evie replied. “That he is,” Ben said. “He’s the guardian of this whole world. I guess he focuses on the Isle in particular along with me. When I was growing up I started getting curious about the Isle and Solo noticed so he told me about his visits and what he saw there.” “So,” Carlos said. “You know what we went through growing up.” Ben nodded and said, “He told me about you four in particular. That’s why I chose you four to come over here.” Mal knew that Ben was leaving out the dreams he had about her and vice versa, which Mal understood why as that was private for between them only and was grateful. 

Ben continued, “You four in particular seemed to need help the most. But I know that all of the Isle is suffering. I tried helping a bit at a time, like I secretly starting sending better quality food and goods once a month…” “That was you?” Mal asked. Ben nodded and Jay said, “That’s cool. You have no idea how much people were impacted by that. Although fights were starting to break out about who would get what.” Ben paled a little and said, “I didn’t want that to happen.” “It’s OK,” Mal said. “Fights happen a lot on the Isle anyway. But you are doing a good thing in helping the Isle.” 

Ben smiled and said, “Back to what happened yesterday. I thought I heard Solo’s voice in the church. He was there, wasn’t he?” The four nodded as Evie said, “He showed up after you were knocked out.” “And he was amazing!” Carlos shouted. “He just tossed Maleficent around using his mystical powers, and he had this awesome laser sword, and he could fly…” Carlos!” Ben whispered. “Not so loud! People around here don’t know about Solo and he wants to keep it that way.” “Why?” Jay asked. Ben sighed and said, “He told me a long time ago that he wanted to keep his presence a secret. So I have told no one.” “Then why did he make his presence known on the Isle?” Mal asked. “Who knows,” Ben said. “He doesn’t tell me everything I’m afraid. All I know is that he’s watching over me, and all of you. Like I promised yesterday, you are protected here from your parents. But also know that now that I am King, I will work on helping all those children suffering on the Isle who deserve a second chance here in Auradon. I can promise all of you that.” The Core 4 smiled in thanks.

Ben then cleared his throat and said, “Mal, can I borrow you from your friends for a bit?” Mal nodded as Ben extended his hand to her and she took it. They walked off the bleachers and to the forest surrounding the school. “Mal,” Ben said. “I wanted to thank you for helping Auradon yesterday. You and your friends did a brave thing. For that, I am eternally grateful. And I wanted to apologize for what Audrey and her family said about you yesterday. You do not deserve that treatment.” “It’s OK, Ben,” Mal said. “My mother did horrible things to that family. So I understand their bitterness towards me. But there is one thing that puzzles me. You said you love me. But how can we be together if you are betrothed to Audrey?” Ben sighed and said, “I had a feeling you would ask me that.” 

He pulled out his phone and said, “I want to show you something.” He scrolled through his phone and found the photo he secretly took of the contract when he had the meeting with his folks and Audrey with her family. “I met with Audrey and her family this morning,” Ben said. “And we all noticed that this section magically appeared on the contract that wasn’t there before. Read it.” Mal looked at the photo and read the words to herself. “What does this mean?” Mal asked. “Well,” Ben said. “I would guess that these words appeared when I declared my love for you yesterday. Apparently all contracts, especially betrothal contracts, have a magical escape clause. And because I did part of the actions written here, the words appeared. Once the other part is done, then the contract will become void.” Mal gasped as she realized what Ben was saying. “So,” Mal said. “I just have to declare my love for you and we have to share a true love’s kiss?” Ben nodded and said, “Now, do not feel any pressure about this. I know that you are still learning about love and your feelings for me. I will not put any pressure on you about this.” “But,” Mal said. “After you turn 18, you have…” “I know,” Ben interrupted. “But I don’t want to rush what we have for my sake. I want our relationship to grow naturally. And I have warned Audrey’s family not to interfere with us or try to break us apart. Or else there will be dire consequences.” Mal smirked and said, “How evil of you.” Ben smirked and said, “I know. Just know that I love you with all my heart. And I will wait as long as you need to for this. Contract by damned. And don’t feel any pressure about trying to fit in with Auradon. I would like to integrate you into the court, but only what you feel comfortable with. OK?” Mal nodded as Ben pulled her into a hug. Mal relaxed into the hug and thought, “I wish I could stay in this moment forever.” Ben heard her thought and smiled, thinking, “Me too.” 

Later that night, Ben was back in his dorm room looking out the window. Chewie sat next to him as always. “I should go visit them,” Ben said to Chewie. “As Solo. I need to gain their trust. For both parts of me. As the King and as Solo. Do you agree?” Chewiee barked once. Ben smiled and said, “Thanks. Hopefully I won’t be gone long.” Ben closed his eyes and concentrated on astral projection. Then his spirit appeared as Solo as he turned back to Chewie and said, “Guard my body while I’m gone. I’ll be back shortly. I have a good idea where all four of the VKs are.” Chewie barked once as Solo phased through the walls of his dorm room and flew off to find the Core 4.

The VKs were out late at night sitting on the bleachers. “Shouldn’t we head back inside?” Carlos asked. “I think curfew is soon.” “Relax,” Jay said. “We’re good now. They can trust us with not getting up to no good. But we can still cause mischief every now and then.” Everyone laughed as Mal suddenly sat up straighter and looked around. “M?” Evie asked. “Everything OK?” “Well,” Mal said. “I can’t shake the feeling that we’re being watched.” 

“How right you are.” The four looked over and saw Solo standing there in his dark grey robes and mask staring down at them. “How do you do that?” Carlos asked. “It’s a secret,” Solo said. “I told you that I would see you all soon. You all did well yesterday. And I know that you are taking custody of guarding over your mother, Mal.” Mal nodded and said, “Yeah. She’s just a lizard now so she can’t do any harm in that form.” “Good to hear,” Solo said. “I knew that you would like it here. You all will be the start of a new era here in Auradon.” “What do you mean?” Evie asked. “This world is imbalanced,” Solo said. “Having that Isle created and having magic banned has caused this world to suffer. The King bringing you over here is the first step to correcting the mistakes of the past.” “Wait,” Jay said. “Ben told us that you were telling him about what was happening on the Isle. How much does he know?” “Enough,” Solo said. “Some things I have kept to myself. Just know that the King is genuine in his beliefs and wishes. He has a good heart. You can trust him.” “But what about you?” Mal asked. “We don’t even know who you are. You’re just someone hiding behind a mask.” 

Solo sighed and said, “You’re right.” He then shocked the four as he reached up and pulled his helmet off, revealing his face. Mal gasped. She didn’t realize that a normal looking man would be hiding under the mask. She saw his dark brown eyes, black hair that seemed to be hiding big ears, and a big nose. “Now,” Solo said in his natural deep voice without it being modulated by the helmet. “You all have seen what I look like. I trust all of you to keep me a secret from others, like Ben has.” The four nodded as Carlos said, “I just have one thing to say to you. Can you show us your laser sword again?” The other three looked at Carlos who said, “What? It looks cool, OK.” Solo chuckled and said, “OK. I’ll show you. But technically it’s called a lightsaber, not laser sword.” He pulled it out and activated it, showing its purple light to the VKs. “I made it myself,” Solo said, waving it around. “Don’t ask me how. It’s complicated.” He deactivated it and said, “Just know that I will still watch over all of you and the Isle. I will come when I am needed. Just promise me that you will keep this secret.” The four nodded again as Solo disappeared from sight. “So that’s what he looks like,” Mal said. “For some reason, it’s like I have seen him before. Not just in my dreams. But why?”

Over on the Isle, Uma was sitting on the roof of her mother’s restaurant staring out at sea. She glared at the sight of Auradon and said, “Stupid Mal. She couldn’t even steal the wand. She turned too quickly. She makes me so mad!” She played with the necklace she found last night. As she got up to go back inside, she heard a voice say, “You can have your revenge.” Uma looked around and shouted, “Who said that?” “Don’t be afraid,” the voice answered. “You answered the call when you picked up this necklace. I can help your dreams come true.” Uma smirked and said, “Really?” “Yes,” the voice answered. “Now, this barrier is blocking out a lot of the power of this necklace, but there is enough to make the person who hate most suffer. I could teach you how. You can make her break and have her return here so you can have your revenge.” Uma grinned an evil grin and said, “Teach me how to make Mal suffer. I want her to pay. And then I will create a revenge plan so evil that even Auradon will feel my wrath and know my name. I have all the time I need. So, let’s begin.”


	17. As Time Goes By

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again. Just wanted to let you all know that when you see dots between paragraphs, that means there's a jump in time between paragraphs. Just so you all don't get confused. Enjoy! Next chapter starts the events of the second movie.

Over the next six months, things seemed to be peaceful for the citizens of Auradon. Mostly. It seemed that strange things started to happen after the VKs arrived in Auradon.

................................................................................

About a month after Ben’s coronation, everyone was looking forward to the big Tourney game against Neverland and the homecoming dance the following night. Ben and Mal were looking forward to the dance as a couple. True to Ben’s word, he didn’t pressure her about their relationship and Mal was grateful for that. It was getting harder for the two of them to spend time together as Ben’s kingly duties kept him busy.

Unfortunately, their plans had to change. Ben was called away by the council to discuss the recent earthquakes, hurricanes, and sandstorms that were plaguing Auradon. Merlin was very vocal about the kingdom of Camelot being terrorized by a mysterious beast and wanted Ben to lift the ban on magic that King Adam decreed. Ben wanted to say yes, as Merlin was one of the people he secretly met with before his reign started about wanting to lift the ban after he became King. But Ben knew that physical evidence was needed first. He let Merlin magically transport him to Camelot as that was quickest. He and Merlin split up to look for the creature, which Ben secretly was happy about as he had his lightsaber with him and didn’t want to let Merlin know about it. He found the creature and discovered it was a dragon. It was similar in color to Maleficent, but Ben could tell that it wasn’t her. He activated his lightsaber and started to fight the dragon, using his Force agility to dodge attacks, and he managed to hurt its face, giving it a scar similar to what had as Kylo Ren. The dragon then disappeared in a puff of smoke and dirt before Ben could stop it and he met up with Merlin and told him about the dragon, but that it wasn’t Maleficent as she was still a lizard. Ben granted Merlin the use of his magic and Merlin said they could track the dragon based on some blood and a scale it left behind by Ben’s attack, which Ben obviously lied about how the dragon got its wound.

They tracked the dragon to Charmington and Cinderellasburg, where they discovered that is was a shapeshifter as now it was a serpent. They went to Neverland where the fairies told them that the dwarves discovered that the creature was using the mining tunnels to get around Auradon without being seen. Merlin suddenly realized who the shapeshifter was and he and Ben magically teleported to the tunnels.

While Ben was dealing with that, the VKs had received messages to return home before the next full moon. Through research from Carlos, thanks to Ben gifting them cell phones and computers, they discovered the Anti-Heroes movement and their upcoming meeting at Evie’s old house, so the four snuck away to the Isle during the homecoming dance. Mal felt bad that she didn’t tell Ben about their plan, but she knew that he was dealing with other problems. Although she didn’t know that Ben already knew of their plan thanks to the Force as Ben constantly mentally checked in on her while he was away. He understood why the Core 4 had to do this as he would have done the same thing.

The VKs looked for their parents, minus Mal, and discovered that their parents were missing. Then they go to Evie’s house where the meeting was taking place. What Mal didn’t realize was that Uma was watching the group from the shadows. “Why can’t I strike her now?” Uma thought. “Because,” the voice from the amulet she found hissed. “She is nowhere near the point of breaking yet. She still has her strength and her mind is stable. Besides, right now we are going to enact step 1. Plus, you aren’t fully prepared to strike her down as you don’t have access to your magic. Patience is needed. Now, do it.” Uma nodded and closed her eyes, the amulet glowing around her neck. With it, she established a psychic connection to Mal’s mind since she was in close range of doing so. It would hold even when Mal returned to Auradon even though the two would be split by the barrier. “It’s done,” Uma thought. “Once she returns to Auradon, my revenge will begin.” She chuckled as she disappeared into the shadows. 

The VKs discovered that the Anti-Heroes movement was actually created by the wizard Yen Sid and contained people that wanted to learn how to be good. Yen Sid pulled them aside and said, “The barrier is creating tremendous pressure in the atmosphere and has pushed magic underground and created the Endless Catacombs of Doom, which goes from the Isle to Auradon. Your parents are traveling through them now to escape, but also to get their talismans. Those talismans are growing in power and causing the earthquakes, hurricanes, and sandstorms in Auradon. You need to retrieve them before your parents do and stop them from escaping to Auradon. Go now.”

The Core 4 headed down to the Catacombs of Doom to search for their talismans and their parents. All four of them had to go through different trails to get their talismans. Evie had to climb a toxic tree to claim the golden apple and took a bite of it after being tricked by it and sees visions of her friends abandoning her, which she knew wasn’t true as she is always surrounded by her friends and woke up. Jay had to overcome the temptation to leave his friends to gain riches, and that lets him obtain his father’s magical staff. Carlos had to conquer his fear of his mother to get her magical ring, and had to resist her taunts to use its power to kill her and he stood up to her and was freed from the visions. Mal had to climb Maleficent Mountain to obtain a dragon’s egg. Her test was different from the others. She needed to rely on her friends instead of doing the test on her own. As Mal was doing the test, Ben could sense her fear and as Merlin was talking with the fairies of Neverland, he hid in a hallway and went into meditation to reach out to her. He knew it was a risk, revealing their mental connection to her, but it was a risk worth taking in his eyes. He saw the mountain she had to climb and her fear of falling off. He called out in her head, “Mal!” Mal turned around shouting, “Ben? He can’t be here. It must be the test trying to trick me.” “Mal,” Ben called again mentally. “Don’t be afraid. You aren’t alone. Your friends are here. Call them for help. Please.” Mal nodded and called her friends for help to get down the mountain. At the bottom, she wondered how Ben could be in her mind, and she put that thought away for now to ask Ben later.

The Core 4 made their way through the tunnels after getting their talismans and saw Merlin and Ben appear out of thin air. Ben ran up and hugged Mal, glad to see that she was alright. Mal pulled back and asked, “Wait. I heard your voice while going through my test. How did you know I was there?” “I don’t know,” Ben lied. “I heard your voice in my head and you sounded afraid. I felt your fear somehow. So I just replied back hoping that somehow you would hear me. I guess this could be related to our connection.” Mal seemed to buy it for now as Merlin said, “We have been looking for the creature attacking Auradon. It’s Mim. She’s using these tunnels to terrorize Auradon.” “Wait,” Evie said. “We discovered that it was our parents’ talismans that were creating the earthquakes, hurricanes, and sandstorms in Auradon. And Yen Sid told us that these tunnels connect to Auradon. We have to close them up so none of our parents can escape.”

Suddenly a purple mist appeared and took the shape of Mad Madam Mim. “I knew it,” Merlin said. Mim laughed evilly as Mal and the other VKs scowled. But they saw a long scar across her face and Mal said, “Looks like someone got you bad, Mim.” Mim growled and said, “This wound won’t heal after….” But Ben didn’t want Mim to reveal how Ben hurt her and secretly waved his hand to a rock above and caused it to crash onto Mim’s head before she could say anything else. Mim whined in pain as Merlin said, “I thought I might see you here, Mim. Up to your old tricks, are you? I’m sorry to say that your mischief ends now.” Mim just giggled and said, “Oh, I don’t think so, you geezer, I’m having way too much fun!” 

She transformed into a dragon and started to attack the group. Merlin tried attacking Mim with magic from his wand, but Mim turned into a fox to dodge it. Mim also turned into a rhino to charge in but Jay and Carlos tried to throw boulders at her, a chicken to avoid the boulders, a crocodile to try to eat Carlos, and back into a dragon when everyone surrounded her. Merlin turned into a sparrow to avoid Mim’s fire, but Mim conjured a cage to trap him in. Mim then swatted Ben with her tail that he couldn’t dodge in time, knocking into the cavern walls. “Ben!” Mal cried. Mim started walking toward them as Mal and her friends started to debate on whether to use their talismans or not. 

Suddenly Mim couldn’t move and roared, “What’s going on? I can’t move!” The Core 4 looked behind her and saw Solo with his hand raised to her. Mal almost shouted to him, but Solo put his finger to his lips to signal to them not to say anything as he didn’t want Merlin to know. The four nodded as Mim said, “If I can’t move, then I’ll just roast you!” The four panicked as Solo quickly merged back with his body to be Ben again. He got up, mindful of his injuries still healing, and he summoned Excalibur, knowing that Artie from Camelot gave him permission to summon it. Ben ran in front of the frozen dragon and pointed the sword at her heart. “Excalibur!” Carlos shouted. “The one and only,” Ben said. “The most powerful sword in Auradon. You know what it can do.” “But,” Ben mentally told Mim, shocked that she could hear the King’s voice in her head. “I have another weapon that can do more damage than this. Now, there’s certain memories of me that I want gone from your mind. Now!” Anakin and Luke appeared as Force spirits around Mim, who didn’t see them, as no one except Ben could see them, although Mal saw a flash of something appear for a second, and the two used the Force to alter her memory of what Ben did. Mim shook her head in confusion as Merlin turned into a caterpillar and got out of the cage before turning back into a wizard and said, “So I suggest you save yourself the pain, Mim.” The dragon snorted as Ben pressed the blade against her chest. Mim finally turned back into a hag again and said, “I’ll miss Auradon so. The sheep were tasty.” “But alas,” Merlin said. “Auradon is not the place for you.” He then waved his wand and sent Mim back to the Isle.

Everyone returned to Auradon and Merlin used his magic to send Evil Queen, Cruella, and Jafar, who were traveling through the tunnels, back to Auradon before sealing the tunnels forever. The Core 4 agreed to turn their talismans over to Fairy Godmother so that no one, not even them, could be tempted to use them. Ben was proud of all of them, Mal especially. They were bummed that they missed the homecoming dance, but they threw their own party in Carlos and Jay’s dorm room that Ben was invited to, which he was grateful for. 

.......................................................................................

Ben took advantage of this event to start lifting the ban on magic piece by piece. His father wasn’t too happy about it, but Ben convinced him that magic can be used in a good way. Merlin’s efforts were a success so magic could come back a little at a time. The magical people were thrilled with the news. He evaluated all of the magical beings in Auradon, including the ones in hiding that Agathe told him about, to see how to slowly let magic return to the kingdom. He let Genie have his genie appearance again and said that he could travel the world like he wanted, but his itinerary had to be approved by him. He gave King Triton back his trident so he could protect the seven seas. He tried to give Fairy Godmother back her wand, but she wanted it kept at the museum which he accepted. At night, Agathe helped him sneak out at meet with the hidden magical people and told them that he would be meeting with the council and telling them that he supported their return to the kingdom and they they could use their magic again, however nothing too big as that would make the council angry. “A little at a time,” Ben told them. “The kingdom of Auradon is slowly coming around to liking magic again. You all need to win them over. Just trust me on this.” Agathe was proud of Ben as the people cheered and she thought, “Young Skywalker has become a great king. He truly is getting a second chance at life.” 

......................................................................................

As one semester ended and another began, Audrey decided to spend the next semester away from Auradonn Prep. She didn’t want to be around the VKs and wanted to spend some time refreshing herself hoping that by the time she returned, Ben and Mal’s relationship would fall and she would become engaged to Ben. Aurora wanted Audrey to take the time away to reflect on her behavior and find herself, sending the three good fairies with her. Ben knew that something big needed to happen to Audrey in order for her to change, but hoped for the best.

...................................................................................

Ben had Carlos and Jay try out for the Swords and Shields team, of which they both made it. Ben told the team that he would not be returning as the captain which shocked everyone. He explained that his kingly duties took up his time so he couldn’t do any extracurricular sports activities. But he wanted to at least choose the player who would take his place as captain. But he made a competition out of it. The person who could beat him, which Ben knew wasn’t likely thanks to his saber skills, or come close to beating him, would be declared the new captain. One by one players were defeated quickly. Carlos didn’t even fight Ben as he knew he was no match for Ben, and just sat and watch in awe of Ben’s amazing sword skills. Jay, though, was up for the challenge and gave Ben a run for his money. Ben was holding back with the others as to not show off his skills thanks to the Force, but Jay was really starting to push him to do better. So Ben picked up the pace during their fight and just as Jay thought he would win, Ben shocked him by using some of his Force agility and won the match. Ben was impressed with Jay and named him captain. All the other players were thrilled, except Chad as he was still apprehensive around the VKs. 

......................................................................................

A month before the Royal Cotillion, all of the different kingdoms in Auradon were having celebrations for the lead up to the cotillion. One such celebration happened outside the kingdom of Atlantica where Ben and the VKs are watching a musical performance put on by Sebastian. However, an unexpected storm struck causing the VKs to fear that it’s due to their talismans of evil. They had Fairy Godmother destroy them, but that caused a burst of magic to be released, which caused the barrier to briefly disappear before reappearing. To make matters worse, the real cause of the storm was Arabella, Ariel’s niece, who tried to use the trident but lost control of it and it flew away and landed just outside the Isle when the barrier was briefly down. Uma learned of this and felt that she could use it to try to get off the Isle. 

The voice in her amulet warned her not to think carelessly about this as Uma for the past few months had been using the psychic link she created with Mal’s mind to slowly send her nightmares to make her feel self-doubt about her place in Auradon and her relationship with Ben. Because of the distance between the two and the barrier, Uma couldn’t read Mal’s mind, only send her the nightmares. The voice promised that once Mal was back on the Isle permanently, Uma would see everything in Mal’s mind and destroy her for good. So the voice didn’t want Uma to get too distracted about the trident when their plan with Mal had been going so well. But Uma got cocky and chose to focus on the trident. She won the ship, Lost Revenge, and got crew mates such as Harry, son of Captain Hook, and Gil, son of Gaston. 

The VKs tried to steal a boat to get to the Isle, but were caught by Fairy Godmother. Jane saw the VKs walking back to school and heard that her mother was going to expel them for what they did. She didn’t want them to leave, especially Carlos, who has been trying to encourage her to try out for the cheerleading team and was helping her with her confidence. 

Meanwhile, Ben was called away as Agrabah and Northern Wei were having negotiation problems and were about to go to war. He found out the olives from Agrabah had been falling over the great wall and that the flying carpets were giving off sonic booms. Ben, along with Lonnie who was from Northern Wei, went to to talk with the royal vizier of Agrabah to discuss a resolution. The vizier was surprised at the humbleness of Lonnie, which Ben was secretly hoping for as he knew Lonnie was a very humble person, and the two kingdoms came to a compromise. A great door would be built into the wall so the people of Argabah could come and go, and the two kingdoms would exchange agriculture tips. As Ben was thanking Lonnie for her help, a magical gust of wind picked Ben up and carried him toward Auradon Prep. 

“How is this happening?” Ben thought to himself. “From the magic of the wind,” Obi-Wan said in Ben’s head. “This feels like Merlin’s work.” “But why am I going to Auradon Prep?” Ben thought. He closed his eyes and reached out his mind to Mal’s, suspecting that this had something to do with her and her friends. He saw that they were about to be expelled for stealing a boat to get to the Isle to retrieve the trident. By the time he landed at Auradon Prep, he had a cover story planned out. He ran to Fairy Godmother’s office as she was about to expel them and gave her the cover story that they were on a secret mission for him. Fairy Godmother bought it and let the VKs go. Ben thanked Jane, as she was the one to have Merlin send for Ben, and he had the VKs tell him the full story of what happened, despite already knowing thanks to reading Mal’s mind. The VKs thank him and get onto the speedboat and head for the Isle. Ben ran back to his room so that he could astral project himself as Solo to watch over them during the mission.

Meanwhile, Uma figured out that the shell necklace she wears with the amulet can help her find the trident. She, Harry, and Gil, now calling themselves the Sea 3, find the trident and Uma swims down to retrieve it. However, Mal and her friends arrive at the same time. Mal pulls out her spell book and uses a time reversal spell to reverse time by a few minutes so that Uma could stay away from the trident. Mal dives down to get the trident, as Uma tries to use her magic seashell to stop Mal as she was just outside the barrier. Solo, who had flown invisibly in the sky above the VKs, saw this happening and used the Force to hold Uma back so that Mal could get the trident, but she loses her glove in the process. Solo sensed a disturbance in the Force coming from the direction of the Isle as Solo sensed something dark. “Could this be what got through the barrier when that hole was in it?” Solo thought. “I need to figure out what’s going on later.” Mal reaches the surface and sees Solo hovering in the air as she gives him a smile as thanks. Solo nods then disappears. The Core 4 head back to Auradon as Uma fumes, holding Mal’s glove in her hand. The voice of the amulet said, “I told you not to get distracted by this. I knew you would fail. Now you must focus on your original plan for Mal.” Uma grunted and said, “I could of had her. But something was holding me back. I saw him. The guardian of the Isle. He’s protecting Mal and her friends! I thought he was on the Isle’s side.” The voice hummed and said, “Interesting. I wonder who he is. He could be the disturbance I have felt. For now, do not fret. Do not concern yourself with this guardian. Focus on your revenge.” Uma grinned and said, “My revenge will happen. Being that close to Mal had me see that the nightmares are working on her. Now I’ll just crack them up a notch and bide my time. She’ll come crawling back to the Isle in no time.” 

...........................................................................

The trident was returned to King Triton. Ben then asked Mal to the cotillion and Mal says yes, much to Ben’s relief, as Ben wants to make Mal a Lady of the court as the step before they get engaged. Evie decides to hand over her magic mirror as it is a evil magical item. Mal debates whether to turn in her spell book, but decides against it for now. She was starting to feel pressure about her place in Auradon. She had been getting the nightmares, not knowing that they were from Uma, about Auradon rejecting her and Ben rejecting her. She was still glad that Ben wasn’t putting any pressure on her about their relationship and her place at his side in Auradon, but she was starting to doubt herself and felt that she would never fit in as the person she is. 

Plus, she was also still getting dreams about Solo and the brown haired girl. She saw their lightsaber clashing in a frozen forest, she saw them talking to each other from across space, and she felt the pain and sorrow the brown haired girl felt, from being abandoned by her parents to rejecting to join Solo in ruling together. She didn’t understand why she was still getting these dreams, and why Solo was doing those horrible things, especially to the brown haired girl. Yet she never heard anyone in the dreams say the girl’s name. And the dreams were choppy at best as they seemed foggy and unclear. Mal wanted to tell Ben about her nightmares fueling her self-doubt and the dreams with Solo and the brown haired girl, but her darkness crept in to taunt her about being weak and foolish so she didn’t say anything. Then a few weeks before the cotillion, Mal had Evie give her a makeover where she had her hair dyed blonde with purple tips and wore pastier clothes and more makeup. When Mal looked at herself in the mirror, she said, “If Auradon wants to see me as a potential Queen, then this is what I need to be.”

...........................................................................

Ben stood in his secret room talking to the Force spirits about what he felt when he was watching Mal retrieve the trident. “It felt dark,” Ben said. “It felt like the Sith.” “Impossible,” Luke said. “Everything related to the Sith was destroyed millennia ago.” “Don’t be so sure,” Anakin said. “The Sith always find some way to survive. Just look at….” “Don’t mention that man’s name!” Leia shouted. “I don’t want to think about him.” “But,” Han said. “How could something like that get here? I thought we were the only ones to arrive here.” “The Force is mysterious,” Obi-Wan said. “Somehow a part of the Sith has lived on and sent something here. Something to cause trouble.” “The Dark Side clouds everything,” Yoda said. “Whatever is on the Isle is being blocked. By the barrier, maybe. But from you being close to the Isle, you have sensed its presence. Caution you must take.” “Yoda’s right, Ben,” Padme said. “If you ever have to go to the Isle, for whatever reason, you must be on your guard. If something Force related is on the Isle, then it could harm you. And if it somehow gets out of that barrier, it would cause doom to everyone. And to what you are planning to do.” Ben nodded and said, “I will be on my guard. I haven’t been to the Isle since my coronation as I am busy with kingly duties. I still have been sending better food and goods, but I haven’t seen what’s happened to the Isle since Mal and her friends defied her mother. I will only go back to the Isle unless I absolutely have to. I still want to get the children off that Isle one day. I don’t want anything evil coming off. I just need to keep my faith that the Force will protect me.” 

The Force spirits nodded as Ben thought, “I just hope everything with cotillion goes as planned. And hopefully soon my relationship with Mal will grow and Mal will declare her love for me and we will finally share our first kiss of true love. Then that betrothal contract will be broken. I wish that this will happen. I am being patient with Mal, but I’m running out of time. I just have to put my love and faith in her…..”


	18. Mal Under Pressure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again. Sorry this chapter took a few days to come out. I took Sunday off from writing so that I could enjoy the nice weather, and do some yard work. I made this chapter longer to compensate. The start of the second movie is here so things are about to heat up.
> 
> Also, I am using the song "Ways to be Wicked", which I don't own. Enjoy!

Three days before Cotillion, Ben woke up feeling excited. He couldn’t wait to make Mal a Lady of the Court during Cotillion. And on Thursday, Mal was planning a picnic at the Enchanted Lake for him. He felt bad that he had been so busy lately that they haven’t had time to hang out. Ben could feel that Mal was close to admitting her love for him. He could feel their connection getting closer to its peak. He was being patient with Mal even though time was running out. Ben was secretly glad that Audrey took the semester off so that she wasn’t around him or Mal. He got up and walked over to his closet to change as he wanted to meet up with Mal. He couldn’t go to any of his classes today as his kingly duties and preparation for Cotillion were taking up time which Fairy Godmother understood. He also needed to get Mal’s present surprise taken care off. He walked out of the closet wearing his typical outfit of a blue suit and looked out at the Isle. “Something bad is on that Isle,” Ben thought. “And I don’t want it coming here.”

Meanwhile, Mal was having another nightmare, curtsey of Uma. Mal was in a dark void with a voice whispering, “You think you can fit in with those pretty princesses. You are not one of them. You are evil. You were born to be evil. You are wicked.” Mal looked down at herself and saw that she was wearing her old outfit from the Isle and her hair was purple again. She surprisingly smiled evilly as she walked toward a cauldron where Evie, Carlos, and Jay were waiting. She pulled out her spell book and said, “Let’s give Auradon a test of evil. Wicked ways beneath the skin. Let all who taste it now join in.” She looked over and saw that Carlos and Jay had buckets of apples as she laughed evilly and the four of them started to sing their wicked song as then went around Auradon Prep to spread their wicked ways,

_(The Core 4)_

_We got all the ways to be_

_W-I-C-K-E-D_

_We got all the ways to be_

_W-I-C-K-E-D_

_C’mon hey hey hey hey hey_

_Hey hey hey hey (haha)_

_Hey hey hey hey hey_

_(Mal)_

_Crashing the party_

_Guess they lost my invitation  
Friendly remainder_

_Got my own kind of persuasion_

_(Carlos)_

_Looks like this place_

_Could use a bit of misbehavior_

_Happily Ever After_

_With a little flavor_

_(Jay)_

_Bad to the bone_

_With even worse intentions_

_We’re gonna steal the show_

_And leave them all defenseless_

_(Evie)_

_A fairy tale can be_

_Oh so overrated_

_So raise your voices_

_And let's get it activated_

_(Everyone)_

_Long live having some fun_

_We take what we want_

_There’s so many ways to be wicked_

_With us evil lives on_

_The right side of wrong_

_There’s so many ways to be wicked_

_Apple, apple_

_Dip, dip_

_Wanna try it?_

_Tick, tick_

_Take a bite_

_Come on, be bold_

_Change the way the story’s told_

_(Mal)_

_This time the dark_

_Is finally getting your attention_

_(Evie)_

_We’re wicked by the book_

_And class is back in session_

_(Jay)_

_You like it, steal it_

_Gotta beat ‘em to the treasure_

_(Carlos)_

_A rite of passage_

_Bad just doesn’t get much better_

_(Everyone)_

_Long live having some fun_

_We take what we want_

_There’s so many ways to be wicked_

_With us evil lives on_

_The right side of wrong_

_There’s so many ways to be wicked_

_(Mal)_

_Mother always knows best_

_(Evie)_

_Show her, pass every test_

_(Carlos)_

_Hear her voice in my head_

_(Jay)_

_Evil is the only real way to win_

_(Everyone)_

_We got all the ways to be_

_Hey, hey, hey hey_

_W-I-C-K-E-D_

_We got all the ways to be_

_Hey, hey, hey, hey_

_W-I-C-K-E-D_

_Yeah_

_Long live having some fun_

_We take what we want_

_There’s so many ways to be wicked_

_With us evil live on_

_The right side of wrong_

_There’s so many ways to be wicked_

_Hey, hey, hey, hey_

_We got all the ways to be_

_W-I-C-K-E-D_

_We got the ways to be_

_W-I-C-K-E-D_

_We got all the ways to be_

_W-I-C-K-E-D_

_We got all the ways to be_

_(Mal)_

_So many ways to be wicked ___

__Mal grinned as she looked around at everyone affected as she heard evil laughter. She had one last apple in her hand and she looked over and saw Ben standing there. She kissed the apple and threw it to him. Ben caught it and looked at Mal with a sad look in his eyes. “See?” The voice said. “He will never accept you for who you are. You don’t belong in Auradon. He doesn’t love you.”_ _

__“No!” Mal shouted as she woke up. She looked around and saw that she was in her dorm room. Evie had already left for the day as Mal sighed, “These nightmares are getting worse. Now I’m actually preferring the dreams with Solo and the brown haired girl.” She sighed as she got out of bed. She looked in the mirror and stared at the new hair she had Evie do for her. She missed her old purple hair, but if she wanted to fit in with Auradon, she had to change._ _

__Mal got dressed and put on some makeup before heading out for the day. She wanted to meet up with Ben, who was always patient with her and never put pressure on her. But she hasn’t seen him lately as he was busy being king. She wanted to tell him about the dreams she was getting but never seemed to find the words. She walked out front and was stopped by numerous reporters. Mal sighed. The reporters started trying to get interviews with her when she started going to some events with Ben. But Ben always protected her from the press. But right now she was all alone. Cameras flashed as the reporters shouted, “Mal, Mal, Mal! Mal, please, over here! Only three days to the Royal Cotillion. Ever think a girl like you would be Lady of the Court? How does it feel to be the most envied girl in Auradon? Will you be King Ben’s new betrothed? Do you like being blond? Is your mother still a lizard?”_ _

__Mal started to get overwhelmed by all of the questions. But out of nowhere, Ben appeared and cut through the reporters to get to Mal, who smiled seeing Ben here. Ben cleared his throat and said, “OK, all right. Excuse me. Uh, we will let you know if and when any situation from those questions change.” One reporter asked, “Did you ever think you’d be with a villain kid?” Ben felt anger rising off of him that even Mal could feel. “How dare that reporter ask me that,” Ben said. But before he could leet his anger loose, he felt Mal grab his arm slightly and he took a deep breath, glared at the reporter and said, “We’re done here.” Just as Ben started to pull Mal away, Fairy Godmother came to the rescue and said, “OK. This is still a school, so if you’re here, you’re either skipping or trespassing.” As the reporters tried to ask more questions, Fairy Godmother shushed them and turned them away. Ben was glad as he said to the reporters, “Thank you guys.” “Thank you,” Mal said. The young couple nodded their thanks to Fairy Godmother, who smiled and walked away._ _

__Ben turned to Mal and smiled. He missed being around her and savored the moment. He then said, “Don’t pay any attention to them.” Mal huffed and said, “Well, that’s a lot easier said than done. Right?” Ben sighed and said, “I know. I know. You know, maybe we should something. We should go somewhere. Get away.” Mal nodded eagerly, wanting to spend time with Ben. Her feelings for him have grown so much over the past six months and she was starting to feel love for him. Suddenly, Ben’s watch dinged and Ben groaned saying, “I have a council meeting. I’m so late. I want to just stay here with you, but…” “Hey,” Mal said, taking his hand. “It’s OK. We’ll hang out soon.” Suddenly her hand was grabbed from behind her. Evie had appeared out of nowhere and said, “If we don’t do a fitting for your gown right this minute, you’ll be dancing in your bathrobe, OK?” Mal sighed, thinking, “That might not be so bad. I don’t even know how to waltz anyway.” Ben heard that thought and it made him a little sad. Evie smiled at Ben, then said to Mal, “Let’s go.” Mal turned and said, “Bye, Ben.” Then Evie dragged her away. Ben waved meekly at Mal, still feeling sad. “She doesn’t feel like her usual self,” Ben thought. “It feels like she is holding something in that she wants to let out. I wish she could just talk to me. She’s getting better at hiding her most personal thoughts.” Sighing, he turned and walked away._ _

__Evie had dragged Mal all the way back to their dorm room and had Mal put on the ball gown Evie designed for her for the Cotillion. It was yellow with blue designs all over it with a puffy skirt. Evie tightened the corset on it and Mal stuttered, “OK, Evie, I cannot breathe.” “Well,” Evie said. “You can breathe after Cotillion.” Mal sighed and said, “I sincerely doubt that. Once I become a Lady of the Court, there are more events lined up for me. At least 20. And I can’t even remember what a single one of them is.” Mal turned and saw her old jacket hanging on a coat hanger. She thought back to the dream she had the night before and wondered if maybe the voice in her dreams was right. Does she belong there? Should she be evil? The darkness in her had started to grow again after the nightmares started but the light kept it at bay. She sighed and asked, “Evie? Do you ever think about what we’d be doing if we were back on the Isle right now?” Evie chuckled and said, “That’s funny.”_ _

__Suddenly their TV chimed as the news came on and Evie looked over and said, “Look who’s on TV.” Mal looked over and saw the news channel showing off parts of the kingdom tour that Mal took with Ben recently. Ben had wanted to show Mal more of Auradon and Mal saw the footage of when they were in Agrabah. The reporter on the TV said, “As the royal couple continues their tour of the kingdom, they dined with Aladdin and Jasmine. Six months ago, no one thought King Ben and his girlfriend from the wrong side of the bridge would last. As King Ben was betrothed to Princess Audrey before Mal arrived in Auradon, and now she is about to become King Ben’s Lady of the Court. Mal must be counting the days until the Royal Cotillion when she will officially a Lady of the Court.”_ _

__Mal suddenly remembered that she had to do something and she ran over to her bed as Evie was checking on her other dresses and Mal pulled out her spell book. She still hasn’t turned it over as she felt that she needed her magic to help her fit in. She flipped the book opened and chanted, “Read it fast at lightning speed. Remember everything I need.” She waved her finger over a book about lady manners and Evie noticed this and said, “I know Mal’s secrets of fitting in and Ben wouldn’t like it one bit. Haven’t you guys had enough secrets between the two of you already? He’s been truthful with you, even about Solo. Why are you still being secretive with him?” Mal sighed and said, “Evie, you remember what I was like before I started using my spell book. I mean, I was a complete disaster. Plus, I feel that Ben is still being secretive like I am. We both know that there are things about our pasts that we haven’t told each other. And I feel that there is more to Solo than Ben is telling me.” Evie sighed, knowing Mal had a point, since all of the VKs wondered about Solo as he would always mysteriously show up when they were in danger then disappear on them. Sure he is the protector of all of Auradon, but they all felt that Solo was being very secretive about his motives. Evie looked at Mal and said, “Well, personally, as your best friend, I strongly believe that this spell book belongs in the museum along with my mirror. Sure, the ban on magic is slowly being lifted thanks to Ben. But the spells in here are dark magic. You aren’t that girl anymore.”_ _

__Mal sighed and asked, “You don’t ever miss running wild and just breaking all the rules?” “Like stealing and lying and fighting?” Evie asked. “No! Why would we? M, come here.” She pulled Mal to her feet and dragged her to the window in their room. “Look at where we are. We’re in Auradon. And we’re Auradon girls now.” Mal sighed, knowing that Evie has fully embraced Auradon. She heard the reporter on the TV say, “Since Mal revealed her love of strawberries, she has received hundreds of cartons from her admirers. Here she is, enjoying a cozy…” Mal smiled, liking the fact that she had supporters behind her and Ben’s relationship. Evie smiled and said, “See, this is the land of opportunity. We can be whatever we want to be here. So please, let’s just leave the past in the past, OK? Besides, I mean, look at the shoes. Look at them.” “Severe,” Mal said sarcastically._ _

__Mal woke up the next morning a little groggy. She didn’t have any nightmares from Uma, but she did have some dreams about Solo and the brown haired girl. But they could almost be nightmares with what she saw. She saw the forest again where Solo and the girl first met, but this time saw the huge explosions and Solo cutting down numerous people. She saw the snowy forest, but heard the girl scream for her friend, the dark one who was trying to fight off Solo but Solo was the better sword fighter and sliced the other man's back. And finally, before she woke up, she saw the girl standing on a balcony, looking out and seeing the old smuggler, who Mal saw with the brown haired girl a lot and sensed that the smuggler was a father figure to the girl, standing on a bridge with Solo, and Solo ran his lightsaber straight through the old man’s chest, as the old man then fell off the bridge to the endless chasm below and the girl screaming, “No!” Mal started to cry as she lastly saw the girl having a conversation with Solo where they were clearly at different points in space and the girl said, “You’re a monster!” and Solo stared hard at the girl and said, “Yes, I am.” Mal woke up sweating and tears leaking down her face. Evie noticed and asked her if she was OK, but Mal put on a fake smile and said that she was fine, just reliving some old memories from the Isle. Evie seemed to buy it for now. Mal thought to herself, “Now these dreams of Solo and the girl are getting dark. Why is this happening to me?”_ _

__Later that morning, the Core 4 were walking around Auradon Prep. Carlos was in the front walking Dude, Jay was next to him, Evie was behind the boys, and Mal was behind all of them, worrying about Cotillion, Ben, her nightmares from Uma, which again she didn’t know were from Uma, her dreams about Solo and the brown haired girl, and her future in Auradon. As the group walked, several girls said hi to Jay, who grinned and waved back. Carlos looked at Jay and asked, “Why do you torture them? Just pick someone to take to Cotillion already.” Carlos was still trying to figure out how to ask Jane to Cotillion. They grew close as Carlos helped her with cheerleading tryouts, and he felt something special with Jane. But he was too nervous to ask her. Jay smiled and said, “I’m going solo. That way, I can dance with all of them.” “Ah,” Carlos said. “You’re the expert.”_ _

__He then stopped Jay, which made Evie and Mal stop, and Carlos asked, “Um, Jay. If you were gonna ask someone, what’s the best way to go?” Jay sighed, put his hand on Carlos’ shoulder, and answered, “Listen, all you gotta do, is look like me.” Carlos laughed sarcastically and said, “Oh, ha, ha.”_ _

__Suddenly Jane came up to the group, wanting to talk to Mal, and Carlos smiled and said, “Hey, Jane.” Jane smiled and said, “Hey.” Carlos then said, “I was wondering….uh…..if you liked the carrot cake last night?” Jane chuckled and said, “I had the pumpkin pie.” “Oh,” Carlos said. “Cool. Uh, uh…” Jay whispered, “Smooth.” He grabbed Carlos and dragged him away, Dude following._ _

__Evie stepped forward and said, “I have an opening for a fitting at 3:00. Who wants it?” Lonnie was behind Jane and said, “Me. Sorry, Jane.” “Perfect,” Evie replied. “Jane, I’ll take you later. OK.” Evie and Lonnie walked away as Jane stepped forward to Mal and said, “I hate to keep bugging you but the Decorating Committee needs more answers. So as much as I hate to, um, you know, um…” “Bug me?” Mal guessed. “Right,” Jane said. Mal sighed and said, “Jane, I would love to. I just have to get to class.” Mal tried to walk away, but Jane stopped her, “You know, just nod if you like it.” Mal nodded as Jane pulled out her tablet and said, “Chair swags, entry banner, twinkle lights, napkin design, table bunting, and you still haven’t picked the party favors yet.” Mal sighed, trying to take it all in, and said, “Honestly, Jane, whatever…” “I mean,” Jane interrupted. “We can do chains, key charms, pen toppers. I kind of love the pen toppers but, I mean, we can do all three.” Mal’s eyes suddenly flashed green startling Jane. Mal closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and looked at Jane and said, “I say pen toppers.” “Yeah?” Jane said. “You won’t regret it.”_ _

__Lonnie and Evie walked back over to the pair as Lonnie said, “I can hardly wait to see what your wedding will look like.” “Me, too,” Mal said, then she suddenly realized what Lonnie said and said, “Wait, what?” Jane smiled and said, “The Royal Cotillion is like getting engaged to be engaged to be engaged.” “I knew it,” Evie said. “It’s basically the engagement party before the official engagement party,” Lonnie said. “Since you basically took Audrey’s place as Ben’s betrothed, this event is about you and Ben officially becoming a couple. Everyone knows it.” “I didn’t know it!” Mal said, freaking out. “How come nobody told me that? Is my entire life just planned out in front of me?”_ _

__What Mal didn’t know was that Ben was walking up behind her. He heard what the conversation was about and was not happy that Jane and Lonnie were telling Mal what the true intention of the Cotillion was. “This is freaking Mal out,” Ben thought. “I can feel it.” He then stepped forward so that the girls could see him and stop the conversation. “Hi, Mal,” Ben said. “Hi, Ben,” Evie, Lonnie, and Jane said. Suddenly Jane tried to pull Ben away from Mal saying, “Oh, oh, quick moment.” Ben pulled his hand away and said, “In a minute. I will talk to you after I talk to Mal. Alone. You can wait over there with Lonnie. I want to talk to both of you.” Lonnie and Jane gulped seeing that Ben was clearly upset about something._ _

__Ben pulled Mal away from the girls and whispered, “Are you OK? You seemed to be freaking out about what Jane and Lonnie told you.” Mal sighed and nodded, not being able to find the words. Ben sighed and said, “I am sorry. I wanted to tell you gently about the purpose of Cotillion. I didn’t want to put any pressure on you. Don’t worry about what those two said. Just think of it as a party and we’re the guests of honor. We won’t be officially engaged since that can’t happen until I’m 18 anyway. I just want you to focus on what we have now. Also, I’ll tell Jane to back off about the Cotillion planning. I can tell it’s stressing you out. Let me worry about it. Just know that I love you so much. OK?” Mal nodded and Ben kissed her forehead. He pulled away and said, “Never forget that.” Mal smiled, feeling a bit lighter than before. “He always seems to rebalance me,” Mal thought. Ben took Mal back over to Evie and said, “Can you please take her to class? I have to talk to these two.” Evie nodded and hooked her arm around Mal and the two walked away._ _

__Ben turned to Lonnie and Jane and said, “Why did you two tell her about the true purpose of Cotillion?” Lonnie shrugged and said, “I thought she knew. I’m sorry. I didn’t know she would freak out like that.” Ben sighed and said, “She lived on the Isle her entire life. She’s still trying to find her place here. I have told her that I would never put any pressure on her. And what you two said did just that.” The girls looked down as Jane said, “Sorry, Ben.” Ben took a deep breath and said, “It’s OK. Just be more careful around her. She’s a little stressed out right now.” Lonnie nodded as Jane pulled some materials out of her bag and said, “OK, you’re almost finished with the surprise for Mal.” She opened her tablet and showed a stain glass window that showed Ben and Mal. Ben was kneeling down in front of her and Mal was dressed in a beautiful purple dress with green designs and a gold crown. Ben smiled thinking, “This is the kind of princess Mal can be. Why did she have to dye her hair blonde? I liked it purple.” Ben then said, “Make sure her eyes are green.” Jane pulled out different green glass samples and asked, “Which green should I use?” Ben looked at all three and pointed to the darkest green saying, “This one.”_ _

__Later that day, Chad was getting his cape fitting with Evie and Doug, who helped manage her dress studio. “What about peacock feathers?” Chad asked. Personally, Chad still wasn’t a fan of the VKs, but he couldn’t deny that Evie had talent in fashion. It was hard that Audrey was away for the semester, but they called each other a lot so that made Chad happy. He didn’t like it that Audrey was still all for Ben, so he was trying to win her over. “Yeah,” Chad continued. “I bet you nobody’s gonna have those at Cotillion.” Evie sighed, still having a slight grudge for Chad because of what he did to her when she first came to Auradon, but kept a professional face and said, “Chad. When I look at you, all I can think of is…King. And fake fur. Fake fur says it all.” “Loud and clear,” Doug agreed._ _

__Jay came into the room to tell Chad, “Amphitheater in five.” Swords and Shields practice was starting soon and Jay was chosen as captain to replace Ben. Jay stood outside the door as Chad whined, “Why did Ben make him captain instead of me? And coach agreed with that choice. I’m obviously better. King Chad though. I do rather like that. You know who else would like that?” “Who?” Evie asked. “Audrey,” Chad said. Evie smirked and said, “She would.” “Chad,” Jay droned from the hallway. “Let’s go.” “Yeah,” Chad said, stepping down from the pedestal, Evie grabbing the cape off of him, and Jay and Chad left for practice._ _

__Evie and Doug chuckled and said together, “Not a lot of there there.” Evie smiled and said, “Someone’s obviously having some trouble dealing with his on off relationship with Audrey.” Doug nodded in agreement as he looked at his laptop and said, “I’ve been doing the numbers. And after we collect from all the girls for their gowns, and Chad’s cape.” He showed Evie the amount of money they would make and Evie gasped, “Wow! No wonder people work. What am I going to do with all this money?” Doug smiled and said, “I think in the next few years, you could buy that castle you always wanted. That way you wouldn’t need a prince.” He grasped Evie’s hand and looked at her with loving eyes. Evie smiled back and said, “You’re right, I don’t. Because I have you.” The couple stared at each other for a while before they got back to work._ _

__Mal was running to her locker trying to get stuff she needed when Ben suddenly appeared next to her saying, “Hi, Mal.” Mal looked at Ben nervously, as her spell book was sitting in there and she feared that Ben would notice it and scold her. Ben smiled and said, “I have a little surprise for you.” “Again,” Mal said. “Wow. That’s like every day now.” “Or every other day,” Ben retorted. “The even days. Because you’re even more perfect than I thought.” Mal chuckled and said, “That is me. I am perfect. I guess.” Ben put his hand under her chin, closing her locker, and said, “Come on, let me spoil you. You didn’t have a lot growing up.” Mal sighed and said, “It’s OK. We managed. That’s what you do when you come from nothing. When you are nothing.” Mal whispered that last part, but Ben heard her and said, “You may come from nothing. But you are not nothing. Not to me.” Mal’s heart melted at that statement, but she felt that she heard that statement before. She suddenly remembered a dream months ago she had of Solo and the girl when Solo asked the girl to join him. Solo said something similar to what Ben said to the girl._ _

__But before she could really process it, Ben pulled her down to the end of the lockers and said, “Now, come this way. First off, Ta-da.” Standing at the end of the lockers was a purple motorbike. Mal gasped as Ben asked, “You like it?” Mal chuckled and sarcastically asked, “Does an ogre like cheese puffs? This is amazing. It’s purple.” She admired the bike before looking at Ben and said, “I didn’t get you anything.” Ben smiled and said, “You don’t have to get me anything. Me spending any minute I can with you is the only gift I can ask for.” Mal smiled as here heart melted at that statement. “Besides,” Ben said. “You’re taking me on a picnic with all my favorite foods, remember?” “Right,” Mal said. “On Thursday. Two days away.” “Mal,” Ben said. “Tomorrow’s Thursday.” Mal realized that Ben was right and lied, “I knew that.” Ben sensed that she was lying and said, “If you don’t have it, it’s fine.” “No, no, no,” Mal said. “I was fully messing with you. I knew that Thursday was tomorrow. I just have to finish baking one thing and put the final touches on the other dishes and then by this time tomorrow, I’m all yours.” Ben smiled, still knowing that Mal was lying to him, seeing that she completely forgot as she seemed stressed out about Cotillion, and wanted to say something, but then Mal kissed him on the cheek and said, “I got to get to class. See you tomorrow.” Ben stood there holding his cheek as Mal walked away. She had never initiated any sort of kiss and Ben had a lopsided smile on his face. He shook his head as he thought, “Mal’s been using her spell book. I can feel its magic on her. It’s surrounding her aura. I think she might use it for tomorrow’s date. I just wish she would talk to me about her troubles. I know that Cotillion is stressing her out. But there’s something else. Something that she’s gotten good at hiding. Hopefully I can talk to her about it tomorrow. Force, this is hard.”_ _

__Over at Swords and Shields practice, Jay was leading the team, “All right, boys, let’s line it up. Carlos, you’re with me, let’s go.” “Yeah,” Carlos said as the team paired off. “Rassembler!” Jay said. “Salute! Lower the point. Masks down. En garde.” The team started sword fighting each other, using the stage to move around. Jay was showing off different moves and giving tips to all of his teammates. Suddenly, a new person jumped onto the stage and Jay fought him off one on one. But their mysterious person was good, really good. Jay had to step up his game as the fight continued. “It’s like I’m fighting Ben again,” Jay thought. “But not as good.” The mysterious person suddenly got hold of Jay’s sword and mock stabbed him, signifying that Jay lost. Jay got his sword back as the mysterious person pulled off his helmet to reveal it was a she, Lonnie. “It’s Lonnie,” Jane said from the balcony as she was with the cheerleading team. The cheerleaders and spectators cheered as Jay said, “Not bad.” Lonnie smiled and said, “You should put me on the team.”_ _

__Chad suddenly came over and said, “Hey, what? No, no, no. We’ll be the laughing stock of the league. And what’s gonna happen next? We’ll have girls playing Tourney. Come on, guys.” “So?” Jay asked. “So?” Chad replied as her pulled out the Swords and Shields rulebook. “So have you not read the rulebook? Section 2, Paragraph 3, 11-4. A team will be comprised of a captain and eight men. Mmm? You should read the rulebook.” Lonnie sighed and said, “OK, yeah, but you’re down a man. You know, since Ben had to leave to do all that king stuff.” “Exactly,” Chad said. “We’re down a man.” Lonnie looked to Jay, pleading with her eyes. But Jay sighed and said, “I’m sorry. Coach trusts me. I’m not gonna stay captain if I just throw out the rulebook.” Lonnie glared at Jay and said, “If Ben was still captain, he would have me join. And if my mother thought the way you do, she would have lost the war.” Lonnie stormed off as Jay felt bad about the situation. He turned to his team and said, “All right, guys. Practice is over, let’s go.”_ _

__The team dispersed and Carlos saw Jane up in the balcony. He shouted, “Jane. Jane, hey.” Jane looked down and said, “Hey, Carlos, what’s up?” Dude barked and sat next to Carlos as Carlos said, “Not much. You?” Jane sighed and said, “Way too much. We were gonna go with the blue and gold banner for Cotillion, but now we can’t find the right shade of blue.” “Oh, yeah,” Carlos said. “No, that’s a bummer. Um, speaking of Cotillion…” “I know, right?” Jane interrupted. “It’s all anybody is talking about. Cotillion 24/7. It’s like they’ve never been to one before.” “I haven’t, actually,” Carlos said. “Oh,” Jane said. “Lucky. I always end up serving punch with my mom anyway. This year I got stuck on the decorating committee because Audrey went off for a semester and is on a spa vacation too with Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather.” “Jane,” Carlos said. “Maybe we should just….” “Skip the whole thing?” Jane guessed. “I really, really wish I could. It’s so nice to have a friend who’s on the same wavelength.” “Oh, you got me,” Carlos said, sighing internally about Jane not getting what he was trying to say. Jane’s phone went off and Jane said, “I gotta go. Great practice though.” Carlos nodded as Jane walked away. He looked down at Dude who was staring up at him. “It wasn’t the right time, all right?” Carlos told Dude._ _

__Later after practice, Carlos was in his and Jay’s dorm room looking at things on his laptop with the news on in the background and Dude was sitting next to him. “How to get out of the friend zone,” Carlos said. He looked over at Dude and said, “I see you reading over my shoulder.” Suddenly Mal barged into the room to avoid reporters. She had just come from the kitchen trying to bake some of the food items for tomorrow’s date with Ben and to give Carlos a potion he requested. She turned off the TV and paced back and forth before her eyes flashed green as she was having a panic attack. “Whoa,” Carlos said. “Easy, girl.” “What?” Mal shouted. “You think this is so easy? You don’t have people taking a photo of you every single time you open your mouth to say “boo!” I mean, it’s not that I could even say “boo” but, you know.” “I’m sorry,” Carlos said. Mal sighed and said, “Carlos, don’t you ever miss screaming at people and just making them run away from you?” Carlos looked at Mal and said, “You’re thinking of my mother. And I was usually on the other end of that. So, not really. No.” Mal sighed. Even she knew that she only did that back on the Isle to hide the light in her. But times were so much easier back then. That's all she knows how to do, survive._ _

__Carlos suddenly jumped up and said, “Oh, hey. Did you bring it?” Mal nodded as she looked down at the small container she brought with her. As she was about to open it, they heard the lock to the door turn and the door opened to reveal Chad. He snuck in and closed the door, then saw Mal and Carlos standing there so he awkwardly said, “Hi. Just came to use your 3-D printer. Won’t be a sec.” Carlos and Mal looked at each other. They both knew that Chad still wasn’t a fan of them, so him sneaking into their room just to use the printer was odd. “How’d you get a key to my room?” Carlos asked. Chad looked at the key in his hand, then back up at the VKs and said, “Oh, I printed it off last time I was in here. You guys were sleeping. Look, I just….Your printer’s so much better than mine. And you installed these hacks. And everything runs so much smoother than mine.” Carlos pointed to the door and said, “Out. Now.” Chad scoffed and said, “Fine. Fine.” He turned to walk out but Carlos said, “Chad. Leave the key.” Chad turned and left the key on the table and walked out the door._ _

__Carlos looked back at Mal, who was spaced out. “Mal?” Carlos asked, getting Mal’s attention. “My potion.” Mal nodded as she pulled it out of the container and showed him a truth gummy. Carlos looked at it and asked, “So, this thing will make me say what I really feel to Jane?” “Yeah,” Mal answered. “I mean, this is a truth gummy, so take it or leave it.” “Perfect,” Carlos said as he reached to grab it. But Mal pulled her hand away and said, “Hold on though. Are you sure that you wanna be taking this? Because this is gonna make you say the truth all the time, no matter what. And the only reason that I’m asking is because I know that if I took this right now, I would get myself sent back to the Isle. Which, it’s not that that sounds super unappealing but, you know.” Carlos looked at Mal. He had a feeling that Mal was hiding her stresses and he wanted to help her, but he wanted to take the potion and said, “Yeah. I’ll take my chances, I guess.”_ _

__Mal sighed as she lowered her hand. Dude jumped off the bed and ate the gummy out of Mal’s hand. “Oh!” Mal said as Dude jumped back onto the bed. “Bad dog!” But then Dude started to talk, “Man, that thing was nasty. And you Carlos? You just gotta man up.” Carlos and Mal looked at each other, shocked that the truth gummy was making Dude talk, while the dog said, “And while you’re at it, scratch my butt.” Mal couldn’t take it anymore and said, “You heard him. Scratch his butt. I need to go figure out my date with Ben tomorrow.” She walked out of the room and Carlos shouted after her, “Mal. You’re just gonna leave me with him?” Carlos sighed as he looked back at Dude, who said, “Come on, you scratch your own all the time.” Carlos sighed, thinking, “This is going to take some getting use to.”_ _


	19. What's My Name?

Over on the Isle of the Lost, Harry was walking to the restaurant Uma works at, Ursula’s Fish and Chips. Work meaning forced to by her mother. Harry pushes some of the locals around and steals some fish. He enters the restaurant, puts his sword in the sword check in, and gives the fish to a waitress as he walks up to the bar and shoves a guy away so he could sit down. Gil was sitting at the bar eating fish and egg yolks. Harry then jumped over the bar and turned on the TV, which showed the Auradon News, which had the reporter talking about Mal and Ben. 

Uma came out of the kitchen carrying a tray, delivering it to Harry, who dug into it. Uma took some of the food off of Harry’s tray and threw it at the TV as Mal was on the screen. “Poser,” Uma said. “Traitor,” Harry added. Uma looked around and noticed that no one else was responding and shouted, “Hello!” The people around her responded and threw food at the TV. Uma smiled as she played with her shell necklace and the amulet around her neck. Sure she knew that Mal was already suffering thanks to the nightmares she was sending her thanks to the amulet, but she still liked to show her disgust of Mal. 

Harry walked to the TV and said, “Oh, I would love to wipe the smiles off their faces. You know what I mean?” Uma looked over at Gil and said, “Gil. You wanna quit choking down yolks and get with the program?” Gil swallowed the yolk he had in his mouth and said, “Yeah, what they said.” Uma smiled and said, “That little traitor. Who left us in the dark.” “Who turned her back on evil,” Harry added. “Who said you weren’t big or bad enough to be in her gang,” Gil added. Everyone froze and stared at Gil, who continued, “Back when we were kids. Come on, you guys remember. She called her Shrimpy and the name just kind of… stuck.” Uma glared at Gil, and her eyes flashed red for a second, the same color as her amulet. Uma looked over at Harry and said, “That snotty little witch. Who grabbed everything she wanted and left me nothing.” “No,” Gil interrupted. “She left you that sandbox, and then she said that you could have the shrimp…” Uma slammed the table and said, “I need you to stop talking.” “Look,” Harry reassured. “We have her turf now. They can stay in Bore-don…” “Harry!” Uma shouted. “That’s her turf now. And I want it, too. We should not be getting her leftovers. Plus, I want to make that girl suffer. More than I already am.” She muttered that last part because Harry and Gil didn’t know about the amulet she had and she wanted it to stay that way. She put her arms around the two boys and said, “Son of Hook, son of Gaston, and me, most of all, daughter of Ursula.” She looked at Harry and asked, “What’s my name?” Harry took off his hat and said, “Uma.” Uma turned to Gil and asked the same question. “Uma,” Gil said. Uma looked out at the people in the restaurant and said, “What’s my name? What’s my name?” “Uma!” The crowd shouted as Uma grinned and started to sing with the crowd joining in,

_(Uma)_

_This is all hands on deck_

_Calling out to lost boys and girls_

_I’m getting tired of the disrespect  
We won’t stop till we rule the world_

_It’s our time, we up next_

_Our sail’s about to be set_

_They ain’t see nothing yet_

_(Uma and Harry)_

_Tell ‘em who’s in charge_

_So they don’t forget_

_(Uma)_

_What’s my name?_

_What’s my name?_

_(Everyone)_

_Uma_

_(Uma)_

_Say it louder_

_What’s my name?_

_What’s my name?_

_(Everyone)_

_Uma_

_(Uma)_

_Feel the power_

_No one’s gonna stop us_

_Soon the world will be ours_

_What’s my name?_

_What’s my name?_

_What’s it?_

_What’s it?_

_Say it loud_

_(Everyone)_

_Uma, Uma_

_(Uma)_

_All eyes on me_

_Let me see ‘em_

_(Everyone)_

_Uma, Uma_

_(Uma)_

_What’s It?_

_What’s It?_

_Say it, say it_

_(Everyone)_

_Uma_

_Uma, Uma_

_Uma, Uma, la, la Uma_

_Uma, Uma_

_Uma, Uma, la, la Uma_

_(Uma)_

_I’m the queen of this town_

_I call the shots_

_You know who I am_

_I don’t need to wear no fake crown_

_Stand up to me_

_Ya don’t stand a chance_

_It’s our time, we up next_

_My crew’s as real as it gets_

_The worst are now the best_

_(Uma and Harry)_

_And leaving us here_

_Will be their last regret_

_(Uma)_

_What’s my name?_

_What’s my name?_

_(Everyone)_

_Uma_

_(Uma)_

_Say it louder_

_What’s my name?_

_What’s my name?_

_(Everyone)_

_Uma_

_(Uma)_

_Feel the power_

_No one’s gonna stop us_

_Soon the world will be ours_

_What’s my name?_

_What’s my name?_

_What’s it?_

_What’s it?_

_Say it_

_Say it_

_(Harry)_

_You know what they say_

_Bad girls have all the fun_

_Never learned how to count_

_‘Cause I’m number one_

_Ready, here we come_

_We always get our way_

_It’s a pirate’s life_

_Every single day_

_Hey, she’s the captain_

_I’m the first mate_

_Enemy’s seasick_

_Can’t see straight_

_Call ‘em fish bait_

_Throw ‘em on a hook_

_Uma’s so hot_

_They got burned if they look_

_(Uma)_

_It’s all eyes on me_

_Let me see ‘em_

_I see your eyes on me, boys_

_Hey_

_You know what my name is_

_Say it, say it louder_

_What’s my name?_

_What’s my name?_

_(Everyone)_

_Uma_

_(Uma)_

_Say it louder_

_What’s my name?_

_What’s my name?_

_(Everyone)_

_Uma_

_(Uma)_

_Feel the power_

_No one’s gonna stop us_

_Soon the world will be ours_

_What’s my name?_

_What’s my name?_

_(Everyone)_

_Uma, uma_

_(Uma)_

_Say it louder_

_(Everyone)_

_Uma, uma_

_(Uma)_

_Ooh, say it louder_

_What’s it?_

_What’s it?_

_Say it_

_Say it_

_(Everyone)_

_Uma, Uma_

_Uma, Uma, la, la Uma_

_Uma, Uma_

_Uma, Uma, la, la Uma_

_Uma, Uma_

_Uma, Uma, la, la Uma_

_Uma, Uma_

_Uma, Uma, la, la Uma_

_Uma ___

__Everyone started to laugh evilly as Uma sat in her chair at the end of the song. She liked having all the attention. “Soon,” Uma thought. “I will have all of Auradon’s attention. And with the combination of my shell necklace and this amulet, I will be unstoppable.”_ _

__As Uma got up, Ursula reached one of her tentacles through the kitchen door and swished it across the crowd and shouted, “Shut your clam!” Uma groaned and shouted, “Mama!” “These dishes ain’t gonna wash themselves!” Ursula shouted as she pulled her tentacle back into the kitchen. Uma weaved her hand through her aqua braids and said, “It’s fine. It’s fine. Because when I get my chance to rain down the evil on Auradon, I will take it. They’re gonna forget that girl. And remember the name…” “Shrimpy!” Gil shouted. Uma glared at Gil, her eyes flashing red again as she nodded to Harry, who grabbed Gil by the collar and threw him out of the restaurant._ _

__Later that night, Uma was sitting on her ship, the Lost Revenge, looking out at Auradon. She pulled out the amulet from behind her shell necklace and said, “Tomorrow is going to be a good day. I can feel it.” “Yes,” the voice in the amulet said. “The nightmares you have been sending Mal are breaking her spirit. One more night should be the final straw to bring that girl back to the Isle. Then your revenge will begin.” Uma smiled an evil smile and said, “Good. By this time tomorrow, I will bring that girl to her knees and make her suffer like I have suffered. She will be the key to my freedom of this place.” “Yes,” the voice said. “I feel that her prince will do anything to save his precious love. You can bargain for your release of this place.” “Then,” Uma said. “Auradon will know my name as I spread evil throughout. Vengeance will be mine.”_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this chapter is a little shorter. Work is a little hectic this week as my hours had to get shifted around. Plus, I wanted to focus this chapter on Uma. Enjoy.


	20. Return to the Isle

Mal was in the middle of her worst nightmare yet. All the people of Auradon were surrounding her and mocking her, “She’s no Lady of the Court! She’s evil, just like her mother! Send her back to the Isle!” Mal tried to cover her ears, but she couldn't move. Audrey appeared before her and sneered, “You thought you could steal Ben from me. Think again. He’s my betrothed. You never had a chance with him.” Mal shook her head muttering, “It’s not true. It’s not true.” Then Ben appeared before her and said, “You will never be my Queen. I never loved you.” Mal started to cry as a dark voice sneered, “You don’t belong in Auradon. Come back to the Isle. It’s where you belong. Come home.”

Mal woke up screaming. She looked around and saw that Evie had already left for classes. “I can’t handle these nightmares anymore,” Mal thought. Sighing, she got out of bed. “And I didn’t even get all of the food prepared for my date.” She looked over and saw her spell book sitting on her bedside table. She got an idea of how to solve her problem.

Ben was sleeping in bed when he suddenly shot up from his bed, startling Chewie awake. Ben took some deep breaths to calm himself down. He saw Chewie rattled and said, “Sorry Chewie. I had a bad dream.” The Force spirits appeared in front of him and Han asked, “What’s the matter, kid?” “My dream,” Ben answered. “It was dark. I couldn’t see anything. But I heard Mal’s voice. She was crying. I looked over and she was being pulled further away from me. I tried to reach her, but I couldn’t. It was like something was pulling me away from her as she was being pulled away from me.” “A premonition, perhaps,” Yoda suggested. “Something might happen to pull Ben and Mal apart?” Padme asked. “Don’t know,” Anakin said. “It could have been a vision of the future, or it could have been a warning.” “Yes,” Obi-Wan said. “The Force could be warning you of something dangerous that could affect you and Mal.” “I agree,” Luke said. “You need to be on your guard, Ben.” “And,” Leia added. “You need to figure out why Mal is stressed out. Be there for her.” Ben nodded as the Force spirits disappeared back into his body. He sighed and said, “I hope Mal will open up to me during our date. If there is something dark that is trying to come between us, then I will stop it. Nothing will get in the way of the new life that we are meant to have.” 

Later that day, Ben and Mal were on their date at the Enchanted Lake. Mal had brought all of the food in a large picnic basket which Ben helped her carry. She then spread everything out on a table under the gazebo and started to feed Ben, “Would you like a hot hors d’oeuvre?” “Yes, please,” Ben said as Mal fed him. He could taste the magic on them, but didn’t say anything as he didn’t care that she had to use magic to do it. He could sense that she still felt stressed so he wanted to make her happy. “Mmm. This is the best thing I’ve ever had.” “So you like it?” Mal asked. “I more than like it,” Be replied as he grabbed another bite of food. “Mmm. Double like it. Is this beef ragout?” Mal nodded as Ben took a bite of it and said, “This is amazing.” “Did I surprise you?” Ben nodded and said, “Oh, yeah, you surprised me. This is every single dish Mrs. Potts made for my parents. This means a lot. That you stopped and did all this for me. Especially with all the craziness you’ve been put through. I missed you. We don’t get much time to be just us anymore.” “I know,” Mal said as Ben reached over to cup her cheek. Mal then reached over to wipe some crumbs off of Ben’s mouth as Ben chuckled and said, “You can’t take me anywhere, huh?” Mal laughed, glad that Ben was enjoying their time together. 

Ben then sighed and said, “Mal. I wanted to ask you something.” Mal held in a breath, her doubt creeping in. Ben looked at Mal and asked, “Are you OK? I know you’ve seemed stressed out lately. Trying to fit in here is hard. Believe me, I know. But I feel that there is something else that has been bothering you.” Mal put on a fake smile and said, “Everything’s fine. Just stress for the Cotillion.” Ben sighed and said, “I know that you’re lying to me.” Mal gasped. Ben reached into the basket and pulled out Mal’s spell book as proof, “I know that this food was made by magic. I could taste it.” Mal started to cry as Ben replied, “Mal. It’s OK. I’m not mad at you for using magic. It’s part of who you are. You don’t have to hide it from me. I love you for you.” Mal stood up and shouted, “But I’m a fake! I’m trying to fit in, but I’m not one of those pretty pink princesses that Auradon wants me to be! What you want me to be.” Ben stood up and said, “That’s not true. I fell in love with you for who you are. You don’t believe that?” Mal couldn’t answer as her nightmares were creeping up into her head. Ben started to cry and said, “Please. Tell me what’s going on.” 

“He doesn’t love you,” The voice from her nightmares said in her head. Mal put her hands on her head, trying to block it. Ben noticed this and walked over to her and put his hands on her head. Suddenly Mal blasted accidental magic at Ben, which knocked him back and he hit the side of the gazebo. Mal was shocked over her actions. “You see,” the voice said. “You hurt others. You hurt him. He will never accept you for who you are.” Mal started to cry harder as Ben rubbed his head as the Force was starting to heal his injuries. “I’m sorry, Ben,” Mal cried. “I don’t deserve your love.” She then grabbed her spell book and magically teleported away. 

Ben stood up shakily and shouted, “Mal!” But it was too late. Ben cried out angrily, clenching his fists and using the Force to blast the table of food away from him. He then shouted, “Agathe!” The Enchantress heard his call as Ben turned to her angrily and shouted, “Did you know? That something was affecting Mal?” Agathe shook her head and said, “I am sorry, Ben. I did not. Whatever this darkness in her mind is, I couldn’t see anything.” Ben then shouted, “Why didn’t you tell me that sooner?” Agathe sighed and said, “I can't interfere unless it’s an emergency…” “This is an emergency!” Ben interrupted. “When my hands touched Mal’s head, I felt it. Darkness. Whispers feeding Mal stress and doubt. About Auradon. About me. I wish I had seen it sooner. So I could help her before it got to this.” Ben slid down to the ground and cried into his legs. Agathe knelt down and said, “Young Skywalker. This destiny wasn’t suppose to be easy to achieve. There are always obstacles that will try to block your path. This is one that we weren’t prepared for. Now, are you going to mope around? Or are you going to go find your true love and get her back?” Ben looked up and asked, “Back? What do you mean?” Agathe sighed and said, “I fear that Mal is going back to the one place where she felt like herself.” Ben realized what she was saying and stood up quickly and ran to his motorized bike, leaving Agatha standing there thinking, “Force, please protect him.” 

During the conversation with Ben and Agathe, Mal had magically arrived back in her dorm room and changed out of her pretty dress and threw on her old Isle clothes. She grabbed a box and started to poke holes into it so that she could put her lizard mom in it as she sobbed, “I don’t belong here.” She walked over and pulled out her lizard mom from her cage and put her in the box saying, “Let’s blow this popsicle stand.” She then wrote a note and left Ben’s ring on it as she walked out of the room and got on her motorized bike and drove to a cliff looking out towards the Isle. She pulled out her spell book and chanted, “Noble steed, proud and fair, you shall take me anywhere.” She braced herself as she drove out onto the ocean, her spell working, as she rode through the barrier and drove around on the Isle, startling the locals. She stopped for a second to look around and saw a poster of Ben and her. She looked at it sadly and thought, “I’m sorry, Ben. But you deserve better than me.” She pulled down the poster, rolled it up into a ball, and threw it behind her. She then drove to the secret hideout her friends created before they left for Auradon. She parked her bike and threw on her book bag and walked over to the entrance. She grabbed a rock and threw it at a sign, which caused the entrance to open. She then went through it and walked up to the hideout.

By the time Mal arrived on the Isle, Ben had finally arrived back at Auradon Prep. He jumped off his bike and ran to the dorms, thinking that might be where Mal is. He wanted to look everywhere in Auradon first before going to the Isle. On his way to Mal’s room, Evie walking through the halls and saw Ben, “Ben!” The King stopped as Evie ran toward him and Ben asked, “Evie. Have you seen Mal?” Evie sighed and said, “Mal’s gone back to the Isle.” She handed Ben the note Mal left and his ring. Ben read the note and held onto his ring with a clenched fist. Tears started to leak down his face as he said, “This is my fault. I couldn’t help her. She’s been under so much pressure lately. I’ve been patient and understanding with her, and I tried talking to her, but she wouldn’t open up to me. Something was….” He didn’t finish his statement as he felt Evie wouldn’t understand and that he had to keep his secrets from her. He looked up at Evie and said, “I need to go after her. I need to go to the Isle and bring her back. She’s not safe there.” Evie sighed and said, “Ben, you’ll never find her. You need to know that Isle and how it works….” “I know how it works!” Ben shouted at Evie, who was startled by Ben’s answer. Ben sighed and said, “I know more about the Isle than you or the others know. I can go there and find Mal.” Evie didn’t know if Ben was being truthful or lying just so that he could go, so she said, “Whatever the case, you have to take me with you.” Ben looked at Evie and asked, “Are you sure? I can take care of myself.” Evie scoffed, not believing that, and said, “Mal’s my best friend. And we’re going to bring the boys, too, because there is safety in numbers and none of us are really too popular over there right now.” Ben realized that Evie had a point and said, “OK.” Evie looked at Ben and said, “But let’s get two things straight. You have to promise me that I won’t get stuck there again.” Ben nodded and said, “I promise.” Evie smiled and said, “And there’s no way you’re going looking like that.” Ben looked down at himself, then thinking of an idea, and then looked back up at Evie and said, “Actually, I have that covered.” 

Back on the Isle, Mal walked to Curl Up and Dye, a hair salon run by Lady Tremaine. Mal opened the door and snuck inside. She walked in and saw Dizzy, Drizella’s daughter, sweeping up hair while listening to music on her headphones. Dizzy looked up and saw Mal standing there, “Mal! Is Evie back, too?” Mal chuckled, knowing that Dizzy loved Evie like a big sister, and said, “As if. I, um, forgot that you guys don’t open till midnight. Place looks good. So, what is your deal? Has your grandmother given you any customers yet?” “Ah,” Dizzy sighed. “Just a witch here and there. Mostly it’s a lot of scrubbing and scouring and sweeping. Lots and lots of sweeping.” “Sounds like the old Cinderella treatment, hey,” Mal replied. “Yeah,” Dizzy agreed. “She’s gone from wicked stepmother to wicked grandmother.” “That’s not really much of a switch,” Mal said. “Hey, Dizzy. You used to do Evie, right?” “Yeah,” Dizzy said, smiling as she talked. “I thought of the little braids.” Mal nodded and asked, “You have any ideas for me?” Dizzy walked up and examined Mal and her hair, “The washed-out blonde with purple tips. The best of no worlds. You can’t see where your face ends and your hair begins.” She led Mal to sit down in a chair as she examined her nails, “Oh, what is this? Bored to Death Pink? Hmm. How far can I go?” Mal thought for a moment, then said, “The works. I mean, whatever makes me feel like me, but you know…way worse.” “Yay,” Dizzy cheered. 

Dizzy did the whole nine yards on Mal. She dyed her hair back to purple, trimmed a few inches off, put curlers made out of soda cans in her hair for styling, and painted her fingernails purple. Dizzy was excited the whole time doing Mal’s new look. Mal was deep in thought during the whole process. She wanted to feel like herself again, but she didn’t want to go villain again. She just wanted to go back to how she lived on the Isle, by surviving. “Like the brown haired girl,” Mal thought. “She looked like a survivor. I’ll be one too.” That then made her think of Solo. “What would he think of me doing this? No. Don’t think about him. Hopefully now that I am back here, I won’t get any dreams or nightmares of any kind. Those all started when I went to Auradon. Although, I had my dreams of Ben here….Stop. Don’t think about him. He deserves better than me. Move on.”

When Dizzy was done, Mal looked at herself in the mirror. She loved her light purple hair and said, “Hey, there I am.” Dizzy smiled and said, “Voila!” Mal smiled back and said, “Voila.” She pulled out some money she took from Auradon and gave it to Dizzy, who said, “For me?” Mal nodded and said, “You earned it.” 

Dizzy ran over to put it into the cash register, but Harry suddenly appeared in the doorway and said, “Fork it over, ya runt.” She handed Harry the money and Harry tapped his hook, even though he didn’t need it as he had both hands, on the cash register and said, “Now the rest of it.” Mal stood there chewing a piece of gum as Dizzy emptied the cash register and handed all the money she had to Harry. He turned to leave when Mal decided to shout, “Still running errands for Uma or do you actually get to keep what you steal?” Harry turned around and saw Mal standing there and said, “Well, well, well. What a nice surprise.” Mal looked straight at Harry and said, “Hi, Harry.” Harry walked up to Mal and said, “Just wait until Uma hears you’re back. She’s never gonna give you back your old territory.” Mal felt deep down that she didn’t want her territory back as she just wanted to survive on her own and being evil wasn’t really her cup of tea in the first place, but she remembered that on the Isle, she had to keep up the appearance of being intimidating, so she said, “Oh. Well, that’s OK. Because I will be taking it.” Harry took his hook and weaved it through Mal’s hair and said, “I could hurt you.” Mal suddenly grabbed Harry’s hand with reflexes that Mal didn’t even know she had, surprising herself and Harry. “That was weird,” Mal thought as she took the gum out of her mouth and put it on the end of Harry’s hook and said, “Not without her permission, I bet.” Harry chuckled as he put the gum in his mouth, which made Mal gag internally, and Harry walked away, purposefully knocking stuff off counters. He turned and bowed to Mal, who glared at him, and he walked out. “Great,” Dizzy said. “More sweeping.” 

Later that night over in Auradon, Evie, Carlos, and Jay had thrown on some old clothes they wore on the Isle and snuck out of the school to where Ben’s limo was waiting. “OK,” Carlos said. “Where’s Ben?” “He said he would met us here,” Evie said. Suddenly one of the limo doors opened and out came Ben. “Wow,” Jay said as he looked at Ben’s look. Ben was wearing dark pants, black boots, a black leather jacket, dark gray undershirt, and a black beanie concealing his hair. He looked at the three and said, “What do you all think?” Evie got over her shock and said, “It’ll do. You could of at least added some color.” Ben chuckled and said, “I need to blend in on the Isle, not stand out. Trust me, I know what I’m doing. Jay, here are the keys and remote.” He threw them to Jay who caught them. 

“Shotgun!” The four looked over at the stairs and saw Dude standing there. Carlos glared at Dude and said, “No, Dude, stay. The Isle is way too dangerous.” Dude whimpered as Ben and Evie stared at Dude in shock. Jay looked at Carlos and asked, “Did he just…” “Talk?” Carlos interrupted. “Yeah, I know. I’ll tell you later.” “Wait,” Ben said, then he whistled. Chewie came bounding down the stairs and stopped in front of Ben. The King knelt down and whispered into Chewie’s ear so no one could hear him, “Guard Dude. He must have been affected by one of Mal’s spell to make him talk. I don’t want him doing anything stupid.” Chewie barked once as Ben petted his head and stood up saying, “Let’s go.” “Yeah,” Evie said as the four got into the limo and drove to the Isle. 

“OK,” Evie said as they drove. “Once we cross the bridge, park under the pier in the old garage. Got it?” “Got it,” Jay said as he drove over the bridge. They got to the Isle and parked in the old garage. The four got out as Carlos said, “Ben, help me with the tarp.” Ben nodded as the two boys grabbed the tarp. Carlos threw some of it at Jay and the three boys covered the limo. Evie whispered to Jay, “It’s really weird being back here.” Jay nodded and said, “We’ll get in and get out.” Carlos, Jay, and Evie got another tarp over the limo as Ben felt something coming from a tunnel nearby. “I can feel something,” Ben thought. “So can we,” Luke said in his head. “Sith,” Yoda said. “It could be whatever landed here six months ago,” Obi-Wan said. “You have to be cautious, Ben,” Anakin said. “He’s right,” Leia said. “Now that you are on the Isle, your connection to the Force will be limited. Luckily you have enough power reserved in you. But only so much.” “Don’t waste it,” Han said. “Stay strong,” Padme said. “I will,” Ben thought as the other three came over as Jay said, “Don’t go that way. You don’t want to know what’s in here.” “I think I have a good idea what,” Ben said, confusing the others. “OK,” Carlos said. “We need to keep it chill. Last thing we need is our parents figuring out we’re here.” 

They walked out of the garage and through different alleys. Two kids suddenly came up and distracted Evie, taking her wallet. Ben turned around and was about to fight them off, but Evie looked into both kids’ eyes and said, “Take it.” Ben smiled at Evie’s gesture, but then put on an emotionless face. “I’m on the Isle,” Ben reminded himself. “Positive emotions can’t be shown here.” He turned and walked away, going in the direction he sensed Mal in. Evie turned from where she let the two kids go, and saw that Ben was walking way ahead of them. “Come on,” Evie said to Carlos and Jay. 

Ben kept walking, determined to get to Mal. Evie, Carlos, and Jay caught up with him. “Ben, stop,” Evie said. “Just stop. You don’t know where you’re going. And you need to be careful here. The Isle is different, this isn’t a parade you can just walk through.” “I know that,” Ben said, glaring at Evie, startling her. “I know the rules. Keep your hands in your pockets unless you’re stealing. You either slouch or strut. And never, ever smile. Also, no thank you or please. Just chill.” He saw the shocked looks on the other three’s faces and said, “What? You thought I could never be like you? I can. There’s more to me than just how I act back home. Trust me.” He turned and kept walking toward where Mal was as the other three tried to keep up. 

One of the locals came up and pushed him, which made Ben stop and glare at the guy. “Uh oh,” Carlos said. But Ben surprised them by grabbing the local’s arm, twisted it around, swiped the guy’s legs so he would fall to the ground, and knelt his knee on the guy’s back while holding his arm. “I’m in no mood to be messed with,” Ben sneered. “I will end you if you try. Got it?” The local whimpered as Jay said, “Lay off, Ben. He gets it.” Ben sighed, but before getting off him, he leaned down and whispered in the guy’s ear, “You never saw me. You will forget this happened. “I never saw you. I will forget this,” the local mumbled as if in a trance. Ben had used the Jedi mind trick on him. Ben got off of him and turned to the others and said, “He’ll be fine. We came to an understanding. Let’s go.” He turned and walked off, Evie, Carlos and Jay following him. 

What the group didn’t see was that Gil was nearby and saw what happened. He got a look at Ben’s face in passing and said, “He looks familiar.” He looked up at a poster with Ben’s face on it and realized, “It’s King Ben. Uma’s gonna love this.” He turned and ran to find Uma to let her know what he saw.” 

Over on the Lost Revenge, Uma was staring out at sea smiling to herself, “Mal’s finally here. Now my revenge can begin. She thought her nightmares would end now that she’s here. Ha. That was just the beginning.” “Yes,” the voice from the amulet said. “Her spirit is breaking. Now you just have to make sure that you break it entirely.” Uma hummed as Harry came up behind her and said, “Uma. I have news.” “Let me guess,” Uma said, turning around to face Harry. “Mal is back.” Harry looked shocked and asked, “How did you know?” Uma smiled evilly and said, “Word gets around.” 

Suddenly Gil ran abroad the ship and said, “I saw King Ben! And Evie, Carlos, and Jay. They’re here on the Isle.” Uma’s smile got bigger as she said, “Interesting. Mal’s friends and her precious King have come to get her back. Not happening. But, maybe we can use this to our advantage. Bring me King Ben.” “Uh,” Gil said. “How? He’s very intimidating. He nearly twisted some guy’s arm off. How are we going to get him?” Uma thought for a moment, then reached into her jacket and pulled out a vial, “Magic may not work here, but herbs can do wonders too. This should be enough to knock the King down.”

The four arrived at their hideout of which Carlos asked, “Ben, how did you know where to go?” “Just a feeling,” Ben said. The others didn’t buy it, but said nothing. Jay took a rock and threw it at the sign, causing the entrance to open. Ben got to the stairs, turned to the others, and said, “Wish me luck.” “Good luck,” Evie said as Ben started his climb to the top. 

When Ben reached the top, he looked around. It was run down, but comfortable. Ben realized that this was probably where the Core 4 hid from their parents. He heard a spray bottle and walked right to the source. Mal was spraying some graffiti art. Ben smiled. He knew Mal was a talented artist, but now he got a full view of how great she was. “At least I don’t see a picture of me with horns and a pitchfork,” Ben said, getting Mal’s attention. Mal turned around, startled, and said, “Ben. What are you doing here?” “I’m here,” Ben answered. “For you. I’m so sorry, Mal. I should have helped you sooner. I knew you were under stress. I tried to take some of it away, but that wasn’t enough. I just want us to talk. Right here, right now. Where you feel comfortable.” Mal tilted her head and asked, “You aren’t here to bring me back to Auradon?” “I am,” Ben said. “But I want to talk to you first. Away from everything.” Mal sighed, walked over to a couch, and sat down on it, Ben following suit.

“So,” Ben said. “Please tell me what is bothering you. I know that it’s more than not fitting in at Auradon.” “It is!” Mal shouted. “I tried to fit in. I gave it my best shot. And if you think that I could change, I think you’re wrong.” “I don’t want you to change,” Ben said. “To be honest, I prefer how you look now and when you first came to Auradon. Not the girl you were pretending to be.” “Really?” Mal asked. Ben nodded and said, “I care about the girl I met, and that’s you.” “But,” Mal countered. “I’m such a bad influence. I have to take myself out of the picture, because it’s what’s best for you, and it’s what’s best for Auradon. You don’t deserve me. You deserve a pretty princess who will make a great Queen for you. You are still betrothed to Audrey. In a few months, you two will be engaged. She’s the one who will be best for Auradon. Not me.” “Don’t say that!” Ben said angrily, standing up. “You are worth more than Audrey ever could be. Don’t you remember what I told you during our date? I don’t like Audrey. I ran away when I found out that I was betrothed to her. Do you want me to be trapped in a loveless marriage? While you stay here with a broken heart? While I’ll have a broken heart? I don’t love Audrey. I love you. I don’t care that you aren’t like those pretty pink princesses back in Auradon. You are you. We have a connection, Mal. A spark that has grown. I feel it. I know you feel it. You’ve told me that you do. And I have been patient with you. I know that I am running out of time because of the contract, but I don’t care about that. All I care about is you and my love for you. But you have grown so much, Mal. I can feel that you are learning to love. I know it’s true. You care about me.” Mal felt tears well up in her eyes. She knew that Ben was telling the truth. And at the moment, no creepy voice in her head was telling her otherwise. 

Mal looked up at Ben and said, “I do care about you, Ben. But I hurt you today. I’m not worth it. I’m no Lady of the Court. I don’t even know how to waltz.” Ben chuckled and said, “I heal pretty quickly. And I can teach you how to waltz. Right now.” He held out his hand and, to his surprise, started to sing,

_(Ben)_

_Take my hand, I’ll take the lead_

_And every turn will be safe with me_

_Don’t be afraid, afraid to fall_

_You know I’ll catch you through it all_

_And you can’t keep us apart_

_‘Cause my heart is wherever you are_

_(Ben and Mal)_

_It’s like lightning, the chances of finding_

_Someone like you_

_It’s one in a million, the chances the feeling_

_The way you do_

_And with every step together_

_We just keep on getting better_

_So can I have this dance?_

_Can I have this dance?_

_Oh, no mountain’s too high and no ocean’s too wide_

_“Cause together or not, our dance won’t stop_

_Let it rain, let it pour, what we have is worth fighting for_

_You know I believe that we were meant to be_

_It’s like catching lightning, the chances of finding_

_Someone like you_

_It’s one in a million, the chances of feeling_

_The way we do_

_And with every step together_

_We just keep on getting better_

_So can I have this dance?_

_Can I have this dance?_

_Can I have this dance?_

_Can I have this dance? ___

__Ben smiled, loving that Mal joined in on singing. He could feel that Mal hasn’t felt this happy in a while. They stopped dancing and stared at each other. Ben leaned his forehead on Mal’s and said, “Please come back with me. I love you. I can’t live without you.” Mal sighed, knowing that Ben was right._ _

__Suddenly Ben felt the darkness creep into Mal’s mind as the creepy voice shouted, “No!” Ben pulled back and said, “What was that?” Mal stared at Ben in horror. “He felt that?” Mal said. She knew that he could sense things from her, but not to that degree. Mal sighed, realizing that she needed to be honest with Ben, and said, “You were right. About something else bothering me. I’ve been getting nightmares. I hear this voice in them. It taunts me about not fitting into Auradon. That you don’t really love me. That I should come back here.” “And you listened to it,” Ben realized. “It’s OK. I’m not mad at you. I just wish you told me sooner. But thank you for finally trusting me with this. Let’s just get off this island. Together. Evie, Carlos, and Jay are waiting downstairs.”_ _

__Mal looked into Ben’s eyes. There was so much love in them. But Mal still felt some self-doubt in her. She felt that she had so many voices in her head telling her what to do and she just wanted to think for herself. She sighed and said, “Can you give me an hour? I need to think about this. On my own. I need to make this decision myself.” Ben sighed. He wished that she would just come with him now, but he understood that she needed some peace and quiet to think. He could relate to that. “Hey!” Han shouted in his head. Ben chuckled, which confused Mal as she didn’t understand why he was chuckling, and looked at her and said, “OK. Like with everything, I won’t pressure you. Take the time you need. I will be waiting downstairs with the others. Just come down when you have your answer. OK?” Mal nodded as Ben took her hand and kissed it. He then walked out as Mal stood there thinking, “He loves me. He really does. I just need to think for myself right now. What do I really what? To stay here? Or go back to Auradon?”_ _

__Ben walked down the stairs where the others were waiting. Evie asked, “Where’s Mal?” Ben sighed and said, “We talked. And after everything we said to each other, she needs some time to think. I gave her an hour. I don’t want to pressure her. I never do. We’ll just wait down here and she’ll come down once she’s thought some things over.” The others nodded as they took their posts guarding their hideout._ _

__Ben walked over and leaned against a wall near the alleyway next to the hideout. Suddenly he felt something dark. He sensed that something was coming that way. He then heard a dark creeping voice laughing. Ben walked toward where the voice was coming from as he thought, “It feels like the Sith. It’s close by. But where is it exactly?” But then someone grabbed him from behind and covered his mouth with a cloth and Ben could taste something on it. “Chloroform,” Ben realized. “And it’s strong. I can’t breathe. Mal…..” Then his world went black._ _

__Carlos looked down the alleyway where Ben was suppose to be near and didn’t see him. “Guys!” Carlos shouted. “Where’s Ben?” Evie and Jay walked to Carlos and saw that Ben was not there. They saw a figure walking toward them. Evie mistook it for Ben and said, “Ben, don’t scare us like that.” “Don’t scare you?” The figure came out of the mist and darkness to reveal Harry. “That’s my speciality.” “Harry,” Evie said as Jay shouted, “What did you do with Ben?” “Oh,” Harry said. “Uh, we nicked him. Mmm-hmm. Gave him a little something to knock him out for a long while. Courtesy of Uma. Yeah, um, and if you want to see him again have Mal come to the Chip Shoppe tonight. Alone. Uma wants a little visit. Aw. Jay. Seems like you’ve lost your touch.” Jay tried to lunge at Harry, but Evie pulled him back as Harry laughed. He looked at Carlos and barked at him, trying to scare him, but Carlos didn’t flinch. Harry turned and walked away, whistling. The other three looked at each other and turned and ran back to their hideout, knowing that Mal was not going to be happy with them._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, you probably noticed that there was a song that was suppose to be happening here that I didn't choose, even though I used some of the lyrics as dialogue. That would be "Chillin' Like a Villain". I love that song, but it didn't fit with how I am characterizing Ben in this story. But I used another song from another DCOM, "Can I Have This Dance?" from High School Musical 3. Again, I don't own it. Hoped you all liked this. And next time, Mal has to go confront Uma and Solo makes an appearance, since Ben is knocked out for the time being.


	21. Space Between

A little while after Ben went downstairs, Mal felt something. Like something took the air out of her lungs. Like she couldn’t breathe for a few seconds. And all she could think about was Ben. Like he was in danger. She heard the dark creepy voice laughing in her head. She looked over and saw Evie, Carlos, and Jay walking through the door as Evie said, “Ben’s been captured. By Uma’s crew.” Mal felt her heart stop. “Ben,” Mal thought. She felt tears starting to well up in her eyes, but she held down her sadness and turned to glare at her friends and said, “If you guys never would have brought him here, this never would have happened. What were you thinking?” “He was gonna come with or without us,” Evie replied. “We just wanted to protect him.” “Yeah,” Carlos added. “And we completely blew it.” “OK,” Jay said. “So what are we gonna do?” “We are not doing anything,” Mal said. “This is between Uma and me, and she’s a punk. And guess what, now I have to go get him.” “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Carlos said. “Mal, you’re still gonna have to go through Harry Hook and his wharf rats.” “Yeah,” Jay added. “You’re gonna need us.” “Uma said to come alone,” Mal said. “Mal, come on,” Evie said, but Carlos stopped her by saying, “She said to come alone. I know one thing, I’m not going anywhere.” Carlos sat down on a couch as Jay sighed and said, “We’ll be here when you get back.” Mal grabbed her jacket and walked out of the hideout.

Uma smiled with glee as Harry and his goons carried Ben’s unconscious body to her. “One king for delivery,” Harry said. “Good work, Harry,” Uma said. “Did you deliver my message?” “Indeed,” Harry said. “Mal will meet you at the Chip Shoppe. To discuss terms.” “Good to hear,” Uma said. “Now, go. I’ll meet up with you later.” Harry nodded and left, the goons he took with him staying to guard King Ben. Uma knelt down to Ben and turned his face towards her. “I can see why Mal could like him,” Uma thought. “He is handsome. And mysterious.” “Yes,” the voice from the amulet said. “There is something about this boy King. Something that makes him different. Be cautious of him. We need to see what makes him special.” Uma hummed as she stood up and walked to her mother’s restaurant, her goons staying to watch over Ben.

Ben woke up groggy as he looked around. The Force spirits were around him. Ben looked down and saw that he was in his Ben Solo form. “Your body’s still knocked out, kid,” Han said. “Whatever that creep who jumped you had you breathe in was strong.” “Well,” Ben said as he stood up, shaking out his black hair. “It wasn’t magic. It was chloroform. Chemicals like that can still affect me like a normal person. But I should have sensed it coming. I got too distracted from sensing whatever Sith thing is here on the Isle. And it’s worse than I feared.” “Indeed,” Luke said. “Whatever that thing is, it’s making the Force even more limited here than we thought. Like it’s trying to absorb the limited amounts of it that gets through the barrier. But why?” “Whatever the case,” Leia said. “We need to figure out how Ben is going to get out of this.” “Well,” Padme suggested. “Why can’t he just astral project himself, then levitate his body back to Mal and the others, then get in the limo and leave?” “That,” Anakin said. “Would require a lot of Ben’s power. Astral projection takes a lot out of him. He doesn’t have the Force and magical connection like back in Auradon.” “And,” Obi-Wan added. “Even if he astral projects, he then has to use more power to levitate his body, and get through Uma’s crew. I fear he won’t have enough power to escape himself.” “Then,” Yoda said. “The VKs our hope must be in rescuing Ben.” Ben sighed and said, “I felt as much. But I don’t just want to sit here trapped in my body until I wake up. However long that may take. I want to at least talk to Mal and warn her. Plus, even though I got Mal to talk to me about nightmares she’s been having, I still think there is something else bothering her. And I think it has something to do with her getting dreams about her old life. I need to help her.” The Force spirits looked at each other and Leia said, “Then, that is what you must do. But you must be careful. Don’t waste all of your strength. Only do a couple of hours at most. You need to save the rest for when the VKs come to help you escape.” Ben nodded as he got into a meditative pose and started to concentrate.

Uma was at her mother’s restaurant handing out food to customers. “Hey,” one customer said. “I wanted the fried clams.” “And I wanted a sea pony,” Uma sneered. “Life ain’t fair.” Uma walked away to deliver more food to customers. She stopped when she saw Mal standing at the entrance, who smiled and said, “I’m back.” “Loser, party of one,” Uma retorted as she showed Mal a table to sit with her. “Right this way, please.” She pushed a chair to Mal, who caught it with ease, using the same weird reflexes that she used on Harry, startling Uma, and sat down saying, “Place still stinks.” “Oh, I’m sorry,” Uma retorted. “We’re down a butler today. Princess.” Mal glared at Uma and asked, “Where is he?” Uma stared down at Mal and said, “You know, I’m dreamed of this. You wanting something from me, and me watching you squirm like a worm on a hook.” “I’m so flattered that you dream of me,” Mal retorted. “I haven’t given you a thought since I left.” Uma slammed the table and said, “Obviously.” 

As she stared into Mal’s eyes, she remembered what the amulet told her about how the psychic link would grow as Mal was now closer to her and decided to read some of Mal’s thoughts to taunt her and whispered, “You have the perfect little life, don’t you? Your pretty bedroom, dresses, makeup, hair, everything. But you’re afraid. You have the heart of the King, but you aren’t sure he has yours. Even after you accidentally blasted him with magic.” Mal panicked while keeping her cool. “How did she know that?” Mal thought as Uma continued, “You see your friends leading perfect new lives in Auradon while you hide behind fake smiles and fake nails. I never bought it. And even though Ben told you that he loves you no matter what, you still have those fears and doubts creeping up inside you. And your darkness craves it.” Mal glared at Uma and said, “Listen, if you have some kind of score to settle with me, game on. I see no need to bring anyone else into this. Especially Ben.” Uma laughed as she pulled back, “It may be a little unnecessary, but, ugh, it is so much fun. Because it’s evil. And I am evil. Are you? Were you ever? Or do you just put up an intimidating act to cover how soft you really are?” 

Mal glared at Uma, her eyes glowing, as Uma continued, “Here’s the deal.” Mal huffed and said, “Just like your mother, always a catch.” Uma smiled as she sat down and put up one of her arms for an arm wrestling match, “If you win, Ben is free to go. Hmm?” Mal put up her arm as Uma continued, “Don’t you wanna know what I get if I win?” “Still dreaming,” Mal taunted. Uma grabbed Mal’s hand and said, “Last time I checked, your mother thought she had things all sewn up, too, huh? How did that work out for her again?” Mal actually wasn’t too bothered with that statement as she felt that her mother got what she deserved, and just wanted to get the match on, “On three.” Uma smiled and said, “One.” “Two,” Mal said. “Three,” both girls said as the match began. They were even in strength. Mal started to push Uma’s arm down as Uma said, “You know, that whole princess act. Ugh. Like I said, never bought it for a second. You could stick a tiara on a villain, but you’re still a villain.” Mal glared at Uma and said, “And you can slap a pirate hat on, but you’re still Shrimpy.” Mal’s eyes started to glow as she pushed Uma’s hand closer and closer to the table. But she was surprised when Uma started to chuckle and said, “If I win, you bring me the wand.” That shocked Mal, causing Uma to slam Mal’s arm on the table. The crowd cheered as Uma stood, smiling evilly, “I knew you were soft and weak. I’m stronger than you. And this is just the beginning.” Mal stared at Uma and said, “Beginning of what?” “My revenge,” Uma said. “You underestimated me for so many years. You thought you could just walk in here and get your precious king back so easily? No. Because I’m better than you. And you should fear me.” The crowd laughed evilly as Uma sang,

I’ve waited for years to have this moment

I’ve thought of the ways I’d make you pay

The tables have turned, the lesson is learned

Now I hold the key

Cause only a fool underestimates me!

An eye for an eye

A wrong for a wrong

Never forgive, never forget

This is your last regret

What goes around, comes around!

The crowd around them cheered as Uma gloated, “Now, if you want beasty boy back, bring me Fairy Godmother’s magic wand to my ship tomorrow at 12:00 noon. Sharp. Oh, and if you blab, you can kiss your baby goodbye.” Uma stood up and walked away, laughing. Mal stood up and walked out of the restaurant back to the hideout. 

Above her on one of the surrounding buildings, Solo, having finally concentrated enough energy to astral project, watched Mal walk out of the restaurant. “She lost,” Solo deduced. “I sense fear in her. Uma wants something in return for my release. I need to follow her and find out what. Then, hopefully I can talk to her some more. Finally, I need to get back here. My body should be waking up within a few hours. Then I can find out where this Sith object is.” He jumped from rooftop to rooftop invisibly back to the hideout.

“There is no way we’re gonna give Uma the wand,” Evie said when Mal told the rest of the Core 4 what Uma wanted in exchange for Ben. “We can’t just let her destroy Auradon.” Carlos added, “Uma doesn’t get the wand, then Ben is toast, guys.” “Great,” Evie said. “So we’re going to give Uma, of all people, the wand.” Evie, Carlos, and Jay started to argue with each other as Mal stood there. She was frustrated with the whole situation, especially since Uma seemed to know more about her than she thought. Suddenly she came up with an idea, “Wait, you guys. Your 3D printer.” “A phony wand,” Carlos realized. “Yes,” Mal said. “In my sleep,” Carlos added. “Yeah,” Evie retorted. “But the second Uma tests it, she’ll know it’s fake.” “OK,” Mal said. “So then we get Ben out really fast. We need some kind of diversion.” “Smoke bombs,” Jay suggested. “That’s perfect,” Evie said. “I’ll get the chemicals I need from Lady Tremaine’s place. That could work.” 

Evie walked over to Mal and said, “Oh, and sick hair by the way. Evil Stepmom seriously stepped up her game.” Mal smiled and said, “OK, do you wanna know something? Dizzy did this.” “Little Dizzy?” Evie said. “Shut up.” “I know,” Mal replied. “I’m, like, loving it. It’s like a lot lighter.” “I’m really proud of her,” Evie said. Jay then cleared his throat as Carlos said, “Hello?” Mal and Evie stopped and Mal sighed saying, “Right. Carlos, Jay, you guys meet us at Pirates Bay, no later than noon. And you guys, losing, not an option. “Cause we’re rotten.” “To the core,” the other three replied. “Let’s do this,” Evie said as the gang set out of their missions. 

Above them on the roof, Solo saw them walk out. “So, they are going to make a fake wand. Interesting. Hopefully they get back here in time.” He sat down and looked out to Auradon. “I can see how Mal looked out to Auradon from this view. It’s beautiful. Now, let’s see where Mal and Evie are going.”

Mal and Evie got to Curl Up and Dye. Dizzy was alone working on some hair pieces. The two girls snuck up behind Dizzy, who turned and saw Evie, “Evie, you came back.” Dizzy gave Evie a hug who said, “Hi.” “Hey,” Mal said. “So great to see you, too.” Dizzy asked, “Is it all just like we imagined? Do they really have closets you can walk into? Have you been to a real swimming pool? What does ice cream taste like?” Evie smiled and said, “It’s cold and it’s sweet. And if you eat it too fast, it gives you a headache.” “Really?” Dizzy asked and Evie nodded. “I saved your sketchbook for you.” “You did?” Evie asked as Dizzy pulled it out and showed her. “Oh, my gosh. Wow. I made this dress out of an old curtain and safety pins.” Dizzy smiled and said, “It reminds me of the dress you made for Mal when she met Jasmine.” “I spilled curry all over that,” Mal remembered. “You did,” Evie agreed. “Yeah, saw that,” Dizzy said as Mal started to walk around, taking chemicals, as Evie said, “This was totally the inspiration for that.” “I knew it,” Dizzy said. “You can take the girl out of the Isle, but you can’t take the Isle out of the girl.” Evie sighed, realizing that Dizzy was right. She looked over and saw some of Dizzy’s hair pieces she was working on and put two pieces together and asked, “Is this too much or is this fabulous?” “Hand me the glue gun,” Dizzy said. 

Back at Auradon Prep, Carlos and Jay had gotten back and walked back to their dorm room. Dude came running out to see Carlos, who bent down and picked him up saying, “Hey. I’m sorry I’m so late, Dude. Ben got captured.” Jay then saw that their door was open and they heard growling and whimpering. “Why is our door open?” Jay asked. “And where’s Chewie? I thought he was watching you.” They got to the room and saw that Chad had broken into their room again, but they saw Chewie a few feet away from Chad growling at him, Chad whimpering in a corner, and the 3D printer printing off an action figure of Chad. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Carlos said. Chad meekly looked over to Carlos and Jay and said, “I knocked. But I didn’t realize that Chewie was in here. And he doesn’t seem to like me very much.” Chewie barked causing Chad to scream. Carlos dropped Dude and walked over to Chad and said, “Give me the key.” Chad shakily reached into his pocket and pulled out another spare key he made. Jay looked at the action figure Chad was printing out while stopping the printer and asked, “What is that?” “Um,” Chad answered. “That’s a little Chad action figure. But you guys stopped it before it could finish the head.” “Sounds like an improvement,” Carlos said as he walked over to the 3D printer. Chewie continued to growl at Chad as Carlos pulled out his phone to get a picture of Fairy Godmother’s wand. 

Chad saw this and asked, “Why are you guys making Fairy Godmother’s wand?” No one noticed that Lonnie had walked by and overheard the conversation. She hid next to the wall outside the room as Carlos said, “Uh, why are we making Fairy Godmother’s wand?” “Because,” Jay answered, not sure what to say. “Ben’s been captured,” Dude said, surprising Chad and Lonnie, startling Chewie from his growling, and angered Carlos and Jay. “What?” Chad asked. “Dude can talk?” “I was stalling,” Carlos said as Chewie walked over to Dude and barked harshly once, making Dude cower a bit. Jay walked over, picked Chad up, and said, “Don’t tell anyone. Ben’s life depends on it.” Lonnie then got an idea and ran off from her hiding spot. “Really?” Chad asked. “So, if something were to happen, you know what I’m saying.” “Something bad, we get it,” Carlos said, making Jay elbow his ribs. “God forbid,” Chad said. “But, if something were to happen, who do you think would be next in line to be king? Me actually.” Chewie got angry and walked over to Chad growling at him again, causing Chad to start backing up to the door. “Is it me or is that in really poor taste?” Jay said. “And if you tell, then it looks like we’re gonna have to let Chewie have you.” Chewie barked causing Chad to run out of the room in terror. “Thank you, Jay,” Carlos said. 

Jay nodded as he bent down to Chewie and said, “Don’t worry, Chewie. We’re gonna get Ben back.” Chewie barked three times as Jay looked at Dude and asked, “So can you understand dogs? You know, since you are one?” “Yep,” Dude said. “Cool,” Jay said. “So what did Chewie just say?” “I have no idea,” Dude admitted. “What?” Carlos looked over from the 3D printer. “You just said you could talk to dogs.” “I can,” Dude said. “But Chewie speaks some other language that I don’t understand. Sounds like roars and gurgling to me. Ben seems to understand him. He talks to Chewie all the time. In fact, Ben talks to himself a lot, like he’s actually talking to people who aren’t there….” Chewie suddenly growled causing Dude to back up. “I might have said too much,” Dude whimpered. Jay pulled on Chewie’s collar and said, “Chewie, back off.” “Yeah,” Carlos said. “He ate a truth gummy. He always has to tell the truth. Give him a break. But Dude. I don’t think Chewie wants you to tell us anything about Ben. It seems to upset him. OK?” “Fine,” Dude said as Carlos and Jay waited for the wand to finish printing.

Back at Curl Up and Dye, Mal and Evie were finishing making the smoke bombs. “Got it?” Evie asked Mal. “Yeah, I got it,” Mal said. “Perfect,” Evie said as Mal handed her the smoke bomb. “That makes five smoke bombs.” “I think that’s enough, right?” Mal asked. Evie nodded as she pulled off the gloves she used to make the smoke bombs and pulled over a hair piece and asked, “M, how amazing would this look with my shredded tee and my heart purse?” “Very amazing,” Mal answered. Dizzy looked over from her work station and said, “Take it! Take a bunch!” “Oh, Dizzy,” Evie said as she walked over to the girl. She grabbed a bag and Dizzy put multiple pieces of hair pieces in the bag. “Oh my gosh. Thank you.” Dizzy smiled and said, “It would make me so happy to know that you were wearing something of mine in Auradon, almost like me being there myself.” Mal started putting the smoke bombs into the bag as Evie gave Dizzy a hug and said, “I really wish I could take you with me.” Dizzy pulled away and said, “At least one of us had our dream come true, right?” Evie felt sadness come over her as she said, “Yeah.” “E,” Mal said. “We gotta go.” Evie nodded as Dizzy waved goodbye and walked back over to her table, looking over Evie’s designs. Evie stared at the girl with guilt in her heart. “Hey,” Mal said. “She’s gonna be OK.” “Yeah,” Evie said. “But she could be so much more.” Mal pulled on Evie’s hand to lead her back to the hideout. 

Solo was standing on the roof of Curl Up and Dye as he saw Mal and Evie walked out of the salon. He sensed Evie’s thoughts and thought, “I need to work on getting kids like Dizzy over to Auradon. Evie’s right. Dizzy deserves so much more like the other kids here.” He sighed as he felt his power weakening a little and said, “I need to get Mal alone so I can talk to her. I can’t keep this astral projection up for much longer.” He then jumped rooftop to rooftop to get back to the hideout. 

Mal and Evie continued their walk back to the hideout as they were talking about old stories from the Isle as Mal said, “That one was epic. That went on for actual days.” “Like it mattered, right?” Evie replied. “We were both…” Mal started as Evie finished, “Undone by true love’s kiss.” “Works every time!” Both girls said while laughing. 

Evie sighed and asked, “Is that what you and Ben really have?” Mal stopped and said, “We have a connection. I didn’t really understand it. But Ben has been so patient with me. He wanted our connection to grow naturally despite the time limit he’s under.” “The betrothal he’s under with Audrey?” Evie asked. Mal nodded and said, “I tried to be one of the pretty pink princesses so that Auradon would like me. I tried it for Ben. I tried it for you, and Carlos, and Jay. I really tried to tell you that I was under all this stress. But, I mean, I saw the way your face lit up when we walked through those dorm rooms for the first time. And I couldn’t spoil that for you.” “Are you staying?” Evie asked. “Because if you’re staying, I’m staying, too.” “No,” Mal said. “No to you staying because you are an Auradon girl. Everyone in Auradon sees me as the girl from the Isle. And they always will. But also no because I don’t know if I’m staying here, maybe I’m not. Ben told me that he cares more about the real me than the me I was pretending to be. I came here because this was the only place where I felt at peace. There have been so many voices in my head telling me what I should do, and I couldn’t take it anymore. Now coming back, I realized that I all I did here was survive. I did wicked things in order to survive. Back in Auradon, I played princess to survive. I’m in my own little world, separate from everything. Separate from you. I need to find my place in this world.” Evie sighed sadly, realizing that even though she and Mal were best friends, there were things that Mal didn’t trust her with. Mal was right, they thought differently about life and they seemed to be in different worlds at times. Mal threw a rock at the sign on their hideout to access the entrance. They walked up the stairs to the hideout, as they both started to sing, 

_(Evie)_

_I didn’t know what you_

_Were going through_

_I thought that you were fine_

_Why did you have to hide?_

_(Mal)_

_I didn’t wanna let you down_

_But the truth is out_

_It’s tearing me apart_

_Not listening to my heart_

_I really had to go_

_(Evie)_

_And I would never stop you_

_(Mal)_

_Even though we change_

_(Evie)_

_Nothing has to change_

_(Both)_

_You can find me in the space between_

_Where two worlds come to meet_

_I’ll never be out of reach_

_‘Cause you’re a part of me_

_So you can fine me in the space between_

_You’ll never be alone_

_No matter where you go_

_We can meet in the space between_

_(Mal)_

_There are no words left to say_

_(Evie)_

_I know you gotta find your place_

_(Mal)_

_But this is not the end_

_(Evie)_

_No, you’re part of who I am_

_(Both)_

_Even if we’re worlds apart_

_You’re still in my heart_

_It will always be_

_You and me_

_Yeah_

_You can find me in the space between_

_Where two worlds come to meet_

_I’ll never be out of reach_

_‘Cause you’re a part of me_

_So you can find me in the space between_

_You’ll never be alone_

_No matter where you go_

_We can meet in the space between_

_Yeah_

_No matter where you go_

_We can meet in the space between ___

__Both girls stood in their hideout leaning their heads together and hugging. Mal truly was happy that she had a friend like Evie. Suddenly Evie started to fall unconscious as Mal pulled away and saw Solo standing there waving his hand over Evie. He caught Evie before she fell to the ground, bridal style. “What did you do to her?” Mal shouted. “Relax,” Solo said. “She’s just asleep. She’ll wake up in a few hours.” He walked over to the couch and set Evie on it._ _

__He turned to Mal and said, “I wanted to talk to you without Evie listening in. We have some things to discuss.” Mal sighed, realizing that he was right. Mal looked up at Solo and said, “OK. But can this wait? Ben been captured….” “By Uma and her goons,” Solo finished for her. “I know.” Mal got angry and shouted, “Then why don’t you go rescue him? You could easily take down Uma and her crew.” Solo sighed and said, “Not that simple. My power is limited here thanks to the barrier.” “Is it?” Mal asked. Solo nodded and said, “The barrier limits how much the source of my power gets through. So I only have a reserved amount before I have to return to Auradon. Even if I could go rescue Ben, I wouldn’t be able to get him and get out without wasting all of my strength. I wouldn’t make it.” “Wow,” Mal said. “For someone like you to say that, impressive.”_ _

__“Plus,” Solo said. “There’s something here on this Isle that wasn’t here six months ago. An object of some kind. I can sense its darkness. It’s been absorbing whatever power it can. You need to get off this Isle. You are in danger as long as that darkness is here.” “Why should I trust you?” Mal said. “You’ve done dark things yourself.” Solo stared at her and said, “You’ve been having more dreams about me, haven’t you?” Mal nodded and added, “And that brown haired girl. I’ve been focusing on her like you suggested, but you’re still there too. You did some evil things. Destroy places, people. You even ran your lightsaber through that old smuggler. I don’t understand. You have done good things here, but you do bad things in my dreams.” “I told you,” Solo said. “The man you’ve seen in your dreams is gone. I’m not that man anymore. Yes, I did horrible things that will always haunt me. Especially what I did to that old man. That act haunts me the most.” “Why?” Mal asked. Solo sighed and said, “Because he was my father.”_ _

__Mal gasped taking a step back. “Don’t be afraid,” Solo said. “Please. That act tore me in two. I hate myself for doing it. But like I said, I’m not that man anymore. The darkness doesn’t rule over me anymore. But I’m not fully in the light either. I’m the gray. The space between.” Mal stared at Solo, feeling that he was being truthful. She saw the hurt and pain in his eyes. She walked up to him and said, “I believe you.” Solo smiled causing Mal to smile._ _

__Mal then asked, “But why am I still having dreams about you? About that girl? Who is she? What’s her name?” Solo sighed and said, “Maybe another time I’ll tell you her name. But right now, you need to focus on rescuing Ben. And getting off this Isle. With that object of darkness here, you are in danger as long as you stay here.” “Why?” Mal asked. “Can it affect me?” Solo then raised his hand to Mal’s head to enter her mind. He put his hand down and said, “I think it already did.” “What do you mean?” Mal asked. “I think,” Solo answered, “That this object of darkness is what is causing your other nightmares.” “How did you know about my other nightmares?” Mal asked. “I sensed it,” Solo lied, putting his hand back up to read Mal’s mind. “Somehow, a psychic link was made between you and this object. Maybe it was just the object, or someone here could be controlling it. I can’t figure that out. The darkness is clouding everything. But I can use some of my power to break it. If you’ll let me.” Mal nodded, wanting the nightmares to stop. Solo focused some of his power and bore into Mal’s mind. He found the psychic link, hearing the dark voice laughing, and Solo pushed it out of her mind. The dark voice screamed in agony as it disappeared from Mal’s mind, Solo smiling and thinking, “It’s gone. I’ll make sure it will never return to harm Mal ever again.”_ _

__Over on the roof of Ursula’s restaurant, Uma was looking down at the Lost Revenge, seeing King Ben tied up on her ship unconscious, being guarded by her goons. Suddenly the voice of the amulet said, “Someone just destroyed the link to Mal’s mind.” “What?” Uma asked, getting angry. “Get it back!” “Unfortunately,” the voice said. “Whoever broke it has done a good job of blocking me from Mal. It’s powerful. Someone whose power comes from the same source as me. A guardian.” Uma realized, “Wait. There is some sort of dark figure that says he’s the guardian of the Isle. It must have been him.” “Yes,” the voice said. “I can sense his presence. I can feel his connection to Mal. To her friends. But most of all, to the King.” Uma looked down to her ship at the unconscious King and said, “Well then, maybe when he wakes up, I’ll pry some information out of him. About the guardian of the Isle.”_ _

__Solo pulled out of Mal’s mind, saying, “It’s done. I’ve made sure that it will never enter your mind again.” Mal did feel a lot lighter and said, “Thank you.” But then she felt woozy as she asked, “What’s happening?” Solo rushed over and held onto her shoulders and said, “Breaking that psychic link took a lot out of you. You should rest. Get your strength back for tomorrow. I’ll watch over all of you.” “But,” Mal said sleepily as she fell unconscious and Solo picked her up, bridal style. He walked over and set Mal on another couch. He looked down on her and said, “My precious Mal. You can have a peaceful sleep for once. I know that you and the others will come rescue me. I’ll be waiting.” He leaned down and kissed Mal on her forehead. He saw a vision of Rey, making him pull away. He looked down at Mal and whispered, “I wish that your memories and Force connection will return to you soon. I don’t want to be alone anymore. I love you, Rey.”_ _

__He then disappeared from the hideout and flew back into his unconscious body on the Lost Revenge. No one saw the glow of the Kyber crystal that Ben wore underneath his clothes. Ben felt it when he returned his spirit to his body and thought inside his head, “One day I’ll give this to you, Mal. I know that one day you’ll be my Rey again. I’ll wait however long that takes. For now, I have faith that you will get me off this Isle and return with me. I’ll be waiting…”_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So about the two songs I used. The first one is from Pattycake Productions Villain's Lair series on Youtube. You should definitely go check it out, it's awesome. The second is "Space Between" but the movie version and not the extended version from the soundtrack as I felt the second verse didn't fit my version of Mal. I don't own any of the two songs. Next time, the rescue happens. See you then.


	22. Rescue of King Ben

Ben groggily woke up and saw his surroundings of the Lost Revenge. “Well,” Ben thought. “I guess the chloroform finally wore off.” He looked around and saw Uma’s goons surrounding him. Harry was standing nearby and said, “Looks like Sleeping Beauty finally woke up. Are you comfortable?” Ben looked down and saw that he was tied to the mast of the ship. Ben shrugged and said, “Yep.” Harry got puzzled at Ben’s admission and said, “Never mind. Time to let Uma know that you’re awake. She’s dying to talk to you face to face.” He walked away as Ben looked around. He saw that dawn had come and thought, “I hope Mal and the others will be here soon. Now, let’s see if I can try to find this Sith object.” He closed his eyes to focus his Force energy.

Back at Auradon Prep, Carlos and Jay had fallen asleep waiting for the 3D printer to finish printing out the fake wand. The printer beeped, waking Jay up. He jabbed Carlos, who mumbled, “Mmm. What?” Jay pointed to the fake wand and Carlos got up and took the fake wand out and said, “Not bad.” “Let’s go,” both boys said as they went for the door. “Hey, guys,” Dude said from Carlos’ bed. “What about me?” Carlos turned to Dude and said, “No, Dude. You stay. Chewie will look after you. I’m serious. Stay.” Dude whined as Carlos continued, “I love you, buddy. We’ll be back before you know it.” 

The two boys left the room as Chewie looked over at Dude, who was whimpering. Chewie suddenly heard Agathe’s voice in his head, “Let Dude go with them. He could play a part in rescuing Ben.” Chewie looked at Dude and barked at Dude, startling the dog. Chewie started to push Dude off the bed with his nose. Dude guessed, “You want me to go with them?” Chewie barked once. “I’ll take that as yes. Thank you, Chewie.” Dude ran out of the room and secretly followed Carlos and Jay.

The two boys got back outside to the limo, but suddenly Doug appeared, causing Jay to hide the wand behind his back. “Hey, guys,” Doug said. “Have you seen Evie?” Carlos then came up with a lie, “She went camping.” Doug huffed, “Evie “I wanna live in a castle” sleeping on the ground with no place to plug in a hair dryer?” Carlos chuckled, “You know how spontaneous she is, bro. Right?” Jay chuckled with Carlos, “Totally, totally. Later Doug.” Jay backed away from Doug with Carlos, and Doug walked back inside.

The two boys turned around and saw Lonnie standing there with swords on her back. “I’m coming with you guys,” Lonnie said. Jay chuckled nervously and said, “What? We don’t need swords at the….waffle hut.” Carlos gave Jay a “Really” look as Lonnie said, “You’re going to the Isle to rescue Ben. Look, it’s either you take me, or I’m gonna have to tell Fairy Godmother. Ben is one of my best friends. I want to help get him back.” Jay and Carlos looked at each other before reluctantly nodding yes. Lonnie squealed with glee and wrapped her arms around the two as they all walked to the limo, not noticing Dude jumping into the truck to hide.

Over on the Isle, Ben was still tied up on the mast of the Lost Revenge, sighing to himself as he felt that the Sith object was somewhere close to the Lost Revenge, but he couldn’t pinpoint its location. Harry was trying to bother Ben with his hook and saying, “Coochy-coochy-coo. How’s it feel to be the king now, eh?” Ben glared at Harry and said, “How would it feel if I punched that pretty nose of yours with my face?” Harry growled and was about to strike Ben, but Uma grabbed Harry’s hook and said, “Give it a rest, Harry. Give it a rest. We don’t want damaged goods.” Harry growled and said, “You said that I could hook him.” “I said at noon,” Harry said. “I would like to see you try,” Ben growled out. Harry chuckled as Uma hummed with interest. Harry pulled out his pocket watch and said, “Twenty more minutes.” Ben looked at the watch and said, “That says 11:30.” Uma sighed and said, “You better hope your girlfriend comes through.” Ben turned to glare at Uma and said, “She will. I know it.” 

Uma smiled and said, “Leave us alone, Harry.” Harry looked at Ben and said, “Nineteen minutes to go now.” “Go,” Uma said to Harry, who slowly walked away. Ben turned to Uma and said, “I get that you don’t deserve this.” Uma laughed and said, “This. This island is a prison thanks to your father. And don’t pretend to look out for me because no one’s looking out for me. It’s just me.” “So you think,” Ben said. “I actually hate the fact that my father made this place and threw all the villains here. Making kids like you suffer for things that you had no part in. I’ve been trying to get kids off this island. Heck, I’ve sent better food and goods here once a month. But do you want to jeopardize that? With your own plan? As I sense that this isn’t something your mom cooked up.” Uma looked at Ben with shock. “This boy is full of surprises,” Uma thought. She looked at Ben and said, “My mom doesn’t care about me. Well, unless she needs someone for the night shift. The only thing she gave me was her necklace.” “Ouch,” Ben said. Uma glared at Ben and said, “I don’t need your pity.” Ben chuckled and said, “No you certainly don’t. You’re very resourceful. I suspect you were the one who made that chloroform that knocked me out. Impressive. And you seem to have full reign here. Since I don’t see you tied up.” 

Uma stood up and said, “All right, so let’s trash talk Mal. Your little sweetheart.” Ben huffed and said, “I’d rather talk about you.” “Mmm,” Uma said. “Funny and a gentleman. I really hope I don’t have to feed you to the fishes.” “No you don’t,” Ben said. “Set me free and we’ll go back together. Isn’t that what you want?” Uma stopped as the voice from the amulet said, “I sense power from this King. He’s trying to mentally persuade you.” Uma chuckled and said, “Oh, so now I get an invite. Gee, I wonder why. When you brought Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay to Auradon, that’s as mad as I’ve ever been in my life. And trust me, I’ve been plenty mad.” Ben sensed that she was jealous and said, “I’m sorry you feel that way. I understand that I hurt the people here that I didn’t pick. But my plan was to start with four kids and bring over more. Once the people in Auradon see that you guys need help and aren’t like your parents, then I can bring over more. These things take time. I know you understand that. You’re a leader, Uma. So am I. Come to Auradon and be part of the solution. Turn away from the evil that’s here. It’s not you.” Uma chuckled and said, “Me? Part of your solution? Nah. I don’t need you. I’m gonna get there on my own. Time to see what this puppy can do.”

She pulled out her shell necklace and showed it to Ben. But Ben saw something glitter under her shirt now that the shell necklace was out of the way. It looked like an amulet, and Ben could sense something dark coming from it. “Could that be the Sith artifact?” Ben wondered in his head. He looked at Uma, who looked down and covered up the amulet with her shell and said, “Let’s talk about you. You are very mysterious, King Ben. It seems that you have a connection to this mysterious guardian of the Isle. Who is he?” Ben held back a look of shock and said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Uma chuckled and said, “Oh, please. I know a lie when I see one. Maybe I can pull it out of you.”

Suddenly Harry came over and said, “It’s almost time, Uma.” Uma groaned and said, “Saved by the bell. Let’s see if this mysterious guardian will come save you along with Mal and her friends. Live bait sounds nice.” 

Carlos, Jay, and Lonnie drove the limo to the Isle and parked it in the old garage by the pier. The three got out and Jay told Lonnie, “I’ll get the swords.” Lonnie nodded as Mal and Evie were waiting for them near the entrance. They both woke up two hours before the others arrived. Evie tried to ask Mal what happened, but Mal wouldn’t say anything. Evie was not happy about it, but Mal said that they had bigger problems to worry about. Lonnie ran over to Mal and Evie and said, “I made them bring me.” “Oh, I’m so glad,” Mal admitted as the two girls hugged. Lonnie hugged Evie next, who said, “Welcome to the Isle.” “It’s good to see the two of you,” Lonnie said.

Carlos and Jay opened the truck and saw Dude laying in it. “And Dude,” Jay said as Carlos scolded, “I told you to stay!” Dude hopped out and said, “I flunked obedience class. Plus, Chewie let me come. He wanted me to. I think. I still can’t understand him.” “Great,” Jay said. “And he can still talk.” Carlos sighed and said, “You’re lucky I love you.” Carlos and Jay grabbed the swords and walked over to the girls. Mal said, “Ooh. Here, let me see it.” Carlos handed Mal the fake wand and Mal examined it, “Wow. What a beauty.” “It’s noon,” Jay said. Mal handed the fake wand back to Carlos and asked, “Are we ready?” Everyone nodded as Mal said, “Leet’s do this.” Everyone walked to the tunnel. Carlos saw Dude trying to follow him and said, “Stay. I mean it.” Dude whined as Carlos put the fake wand in his jacket and ran up to catch up with the others.

The five walked onto the pier and Gil spotted them from the Lost Revenge, “Hey guys! They’re here!” Ben was tied up standing next to Harry and smiled thinking, “They came. Finally. I knew I could believe in them.” Harry pushed Ben toward the plank and said, “Welcome.” Uma stepped forward and said, “Finally.” She giggled as Mal summoned all of her courage and put on an intimidating face as she didn’t want Uma to get the better of her like yesterday. Then the two groups squared off through song, 

_(Uma)_

_Let’s get this party started_

_I swear I’m cold hearted_

_There’s no negotiation_

_I’m not here for debatin’_

_You need some motivation?_

_Just look at Ben’s face_

_They ask yourself_

_How long you think I’ll remain patient_

_I’ll throw him overboard_

_And let him swim with killer sharks_

_You either hand over the wand_

_Or he’ll be ripped apart_

_(Mal)_

_Now let’s all just be smart_

_Although for you that must be hard_

_You’ll get your wand_

_No one has to come to any harm_

_Don’t try to intimidate_

_Your bark is much worse than your bite_

_Who’s the baddest of them all?_

_I guess we’re finding out tonight_

_(Uma and her crew)_

_Let’s go, bring it on_

_Better give us what we want_

_It’s the wand for the crown_

_If you don’t, it’s going down_

_(Core 4 and Lonnie)_

_Let’s go, make your move_

_Peace or war, it’s up to you_

_Give him up and do it now_

_If you don’t, it’s going down_

_(Uma and her crew)_

_We want the wand_

_Or else the King is gone_

_Your time is running out_

_You should really watch your mouth_

_(Core 4 and Lonnie)_

_Let’s go, pound for pound_

_We’re prepared to stand our ground_

_Put your swords up_

_Put ‘em up, it’s going down_

_(Uma and her crew)_

_Yo-oh, ho-oh, oh-oh_

_Make the trade!_

_Yo-oh, ho-oh, oh-oh_

_Or walk the plank!_

_Yo-oh, ho-oh, oh-oh_

_Make the trade!_

_Yo-oh, ho-oh, oh-oh_

_Or walk the plank_

_(Mal)_

_OK look, this is not a conversation_

_It’s a do or die situation_

_If you don’t give me back the King_

_I’ll have no hesitation_

_I’ll serve you right here_

_And I don’t need a reservation_

_That way your whole “pirate crew”_

_Can have a demonstration_

_Release him now_

_And we can go our separate ways_

_Unless you want to deal with me_

_And the VKs_

_(Uma)_

_So that’s your big speech, huh?_

_An empty ultimatum?_

_(Harry)_

_All it takes is one swing and I’ll humiliate him!_

_Matter of fact, make one wrong move and I’ll debilitate him!_

_And if he even starts to slip, I’ll eliminate him!_

_All it takes is one wrong look and I’ll….._

_(Uma)_

_Harry. We get it. Chill._

_(Uma and her crew)_

_Let’s go, bring it on_

_Better give us what we want_

_It’s the wand for the crown_

_If you don’t, it’s going down_

_(Core 4 and Lonnie)_

_Let’s go, make your move_

_Peace or war, it’s up to you_

_Give him up and do it now_

_If you don’t, it’s going down_

_(Uma and her crew)_

_We want the wand_

_Or else the King is gone_

_Your time is running out_

_You should really watch your mouth_

_(Core 4 and Lonnie)_

_Let’s go, pound for pound_

_We’re prepared to stand our ground_

_Put your swords up_

_Put ‘em up, it’s going down_

_(Ben)_

_Hey, we don’t have to choose_

_We don’t have to light the fuse_

_Mal, whatever you do_

_It’s gonna be a lose-lose_

_There’s got to be a better way_

_Uma, I promise I’ll give you your chance_

_You’ll have your say_

_(Uma)_

_Silly king, you give me?_

_You’ll give me a chance?_

_Well, not a chance!_

_(Uma and her crew)_

_Yo-oh, ho-oh, oh-oh_

_Make the trade!_

_Yo-oh, ho-oh, oh-oh_

_Or walk the plank!_

_Yo-oh, ho-oh, oh-oh_

_Make the trade!_

_Yo-oh, ho-oh, oh-oh_

_Or walk the plank ___

__During the song, Carlos had given Mal the fake wand. Mal stared at Ben, who stared right back at her. She heard his voice in her head saying, “Do it. I trust you.” Mal was confused as to why Ben’s voice was in her head, but she shook it off for now and walked forward to hand Uma the fake wand. But Uma said, “Hold up. Mmm. Too easy. Why don’t you give it a test drive? We want to see it work.” Uma was still upset that her psychic link to Mal thanks to the amulet was gone as she could have just used that to see if Mal was telling the truth about the wand or not. Mal scoffed, “You always were quite the dram queen.” Carlos looked over and saw Dude walking up and Uma said, “Oh, and nothing too big, or else Ben is fish bait.” The pirates laughed as Harry leaned Ben forward on the plank. Ben glared back at Harry before locking eyes with Mal. He saw Dude behind the group and pointed his eyes to it. Mal followed Ben’s eyes and looked behind her to Carlos, who nodded his head to Dude. Mal got the idea and turned toward Dude and chanted, “Although it seems absurd, turn your bark into a word.” Dude didn’t say anything, but Mal glared at him and said, “Talk, dog.” “Does this vest make me look fat?” Dude whispered. The pirates laughed as Uma smiled with glee. “Hey, does anyone have some bacon?” Dude asked. “Cookies?” Uma giggled then shouted, “Give me the wand!” “Give me Ben!” Mal retorted._ _

__Uma sighed and said, “Harry, bring him over.” Harry grabbed Ben and dragged him over to Uma, as Gil stopped them and said, “And, before you go, uh, tell your mama Gaston says hi. And also tell your dad that my dad wishes he finished off your dad when he had the chance.” Ben glared at Gil as Harry pushed him towards Uma. Harry made Ben kneel as Mal looked down at him with loving eyes. “Aww,” Uma said. “Cut him loose, Harry.” Harry sighed, “I never get to have any fun.” Harry cut him lose and Mal took Ben’s hand at the same time that she handed Uma the fake wand. The pirates cheered as Mal pulled Ben towards their friends and said, “Let’s go.”_ _

__Uma and the pirates cheered as Uma chanted, “By the power of the sea, tear it down and set us free!” Nothing happened and Uma realized that she had been tricked. She broke the wand in two and shouted, “You do not get to win every time!” Jay ran over and pulled out the swords as Carlos pulled out one of the smoke bombs and used a sling shot to fire it at the pirates. Then the battle started._ _

__Evie handed Ben a sword as pirates started to swing in and fight off the six. Evie fought off numerous pirates using her grace and dodged several attacks and threw the pirates into the sea. Carlos grabbed a sword and started fighting off pirates one by one, shoving them down to the ground. Lonnie showed off her great sword fighting skills and got through the pirates easily, even taunting one by giving him her sword before dodging his attacks and kicking him to the ground._ _

__Jay squared off against Harry and both boys were evenly matched. Harry backed Jay to a corner and used both his hook and his sword to force Jay down. But Jay got some strength back and kicked Harry’s legs out from under him and took his hook. He then threw the hook into the sea and Harry jumped in after it._ _

__Ben got into his fighting stance and said, “Now it’s time to show you all that you don’t mess with me. Ever.” Several pirates charged him, but Ben used his Force agility to jump into the air avoiding them. When he landed back on the ground, he secretly used the Force to push two pirates into the sea. He then expertly fought off two more pirates as his sword skills were vastly superior and knocked them to the ground in just a few sword swings. Suddenly Gil jumped in and swung his sword around. Ben just laughed and said, “Let’s see what you got.” Gil tried his best, but Ben easily outmatched him and got a hold of Gil’s arm and twisted it around and shoved Gil into a wall, knocking the sword out of his hand. Ben leaned into Gil’s ear and whispered, “Just like your brothers. Pathetic.” He punched Gil in the face to knock him out. Carlos had ran over to help Ben, but was shocked at Ben’s fighting skills. “Wow,” Carlos thought. “He’s really letting loose against this guys. He’s more intense than when I had to fight him after joining Swords and Shields. I’m glad not to be Gil right now.”_ _

__Mal and Uma had squared off and both girls were evenly matched. They parried their swords multiple times, and they couldn’t land any hits. Mal looked over at one point and saw Ben being a beast of a sword fighter. “Wow,” Mal thought. “Ben’s really good.” She got inspiration from Ben and used her sword to hold Uma’s sword to the ground and kicked her away. Uma tried to strike back, and Ben saw this as he was running toward the exit, and secretly Force pushed Uma away from Mal, right to Harry, who was climbing out of the water. Uma looked around and said, “He’e here. The guardian. Where is he?” She looked over and saw Ben pulling Mal away and Uma said, “Mal’s mine!” The two ran up and caught up with the pair. Harry yanked Ben away from Mal as Uma started to fight Mal again. Ben got angry and used a sword skill to knock Harry’s sword away and Ben grabbed Harry by the throat and raised him above the ground using his Force strength. “Coochy-coochy-coo,” Ben mocked then he tossed Harry to the ground. Evie threw another smoke bomb to Carlos, who threw it at the pirates and Mal and Ben ran towards the others. Jay and Lonnie ran into the tunnel to start the limo as Carlos and Evie followed behind. Ben and Mal ran over the bridge last as Mal pushed Ben into the tunnel. She turned back and kicked the bridge down so that it fell into the water and the pirates couldn’t follow them. Mal stared down at Uma, who screamed in fury._ _

__Jay and Lonnie got the limo started as Carlos and Evie ran out of the tunnel and threw their swords into the trunk. Jay and Lonnie got in the front while Carlos picked Dude up and he and Evie got into the back. Ben got out of the tunnel and saw that Mal was not following him. “Mal!” Ben shouted into the tunnel, causing an echo. He looked behind him and saw that the others weren’t watching him, so he used his Solo voice to shout, “You need to leave. Now!” He used the Force to bring her to him, causing Mal to be shocked by the action and Uma and her crew heard the voice echoing. Uma grunted, “No! How? Out of my way!” She pushed past Harry and walked away. Ben caught Mal in his arms as Mal asked, “How….” “It was Solo,” Ben lied. “He’s helping us escape. We need to go.” He and Mal ran to the limo, threw their swords into the trunk and shut it, then climbed into the limo, and Jay stepped on the gas pedal, driving away. No one noticed that Mal had dropped her spell book and now it was lying on the floor of the garage._ _

__Mal and Ben sat on opposite sides of the back seat. Mal was trying to get her breathing under control as Ben looked over and said, “I’m really sorry that things didn’t go the way you wanted them to. I know that you wanted some time to think about where you want to be. And…” “Ben,” Mal stopped Ben. “It’s OK. I’m just glad that you’re safe.” Ben smiled and said, “At least I got to see some of the Isle. They’re my people, too. I know that I help them out from Auradon, but seeing everything up close and personal, it affected me. Seeing people like Uma and her crew.” “Ben,” Mal said. “Uma captured you.” “I know,” Ben said. “But like all the VKs on the Isle, she needs help. She’s an angry girl who’s all about revenge. On you. And that worries me.” He sighed and reached over and pulled Mal into his arms saying, “I’m just glad that you’re alright.” Mal closed her eyes and melted into his arms. Dude stared at the couple and said, “Awkward.” Carlos looked down at Dude and said, “Dude, I know you can talk, but it doesn’t always mean you should.” “You ruined their moment,” Evie added. Ben and Mal pulled away, chuckling at Dude._ _

__They reached the bridge and Jay hit the button on the remote to open the barrier and summon the bridge. The limo passed through the barrier and Mal felt her magic return to her. She noticed a gold flash in Ben’s eyes as he took a deep breath and flexed his fingers. “Am I seeing something?” Mal wondered. She put that under the “Ask Ben later” tab in her mind. Jay looked over at Lonnie and said, “Why don’t you stop by practice later?” Lonnie looked over at Jay and asked, “What, in the mood to break some rules?” Jay shrugged and said, “No.” Lonnie was puzzled by his answer and looked back to the road._ _

__Jay parked the limo back at Auradon Prep and everyone got out. Lonnie took the swords and said, “I’ll get these back to the gym.” Jay nodded his thanks as Lonnie ran off. Jane saw the group walking around and ran up to Ben with her tablet and whispered, “Ben. There you are. Cotillion’s tonight. Come here. Look. This is the stained-glass window for Mal. Isn’t it beautiful? She’s gonna love it.” Ben looked over at Mal and whispered, “Do you want to cancel? If you just want to rest and have more time to think this over, then I will respect your wishes. I don’t want to pressure you into doing something you are not up for.” “Um,” Jane said. “You know what? I can come back. Uh, but like, really, really soon.” Ben looked back at Jane and said, “Just wait here a minute.” He pulled Mal to the side and whispered, “Do whatever you need to do. I don’t care if we need to cancel Cotillion because you aren’t up for it.” Mal looked up at Ben and whispered, “I’ll go. For you.” Ben smiled and said, “I know that you haven’t told me your answer about whether you want to stay here with me or go back to the Isle. Take the time before Cotillion to think it over. When we met up tonight, let me know your answer. I’ll understand whatever choice you make. I care about you more than I care about myself. You are what matters. OK?” Mal nodded and Ben lifted her hand and kissed the back of it. He turned and walked away with Jane._ _

__Evie walked over and pulled Mal with her and whispered, “We need to talk.” Mal knew that Evie had questions about what happened on the Isle, especially since Evie wanted to know what happened when she fell unconscious. Carlos, while holding Dude, surprised them by stopping them in their tracks and saying, “No. You guys are always going off in a huddle, whispering your girl-talk stuff or whatever, and Jay and I are tired of it.” “I’m not,” Jay admitted. Carlos glared at Jay, then turned back to the girls and said, “We’re your family, too. We’ve been through a lot. Together. I’m not stopping that now. OK?” Mal nodded, proud that Carlos is stepping up and commanding everyone._ _

__“Everyone, sit,” Carlos said as he sat down on the ground. He looked up at Jay and said, “Come on.” Jay reluctantly sat down as Mal and Evie also sat down. Carlos stared at the group and said, “I don’t know how to start girl talk.” Jay just shrugged and said, “What up?” Evie chuckled as Mal sighed, realizing that although she had been truthful with Evie, she needed to be truthful with the boys. She looked up and said, “I’m a mess. I’m such a mess. I mean, six months ago, I was stealing candy from babies. Just trying to survive. And now, everybody wants me to be this Lady of the Court, and I have no idea how to keep up the act. I’m just a survivor. Ben’s been so patient with me about our relationship and has been trying to keep pressure off of me, but it’s not enough. I just don’t know if I can pretend any longer.” Carlos shrugged and said, “Then don’t.” “See?” Jay said trying to stand up. “This was dumb.” Evie stopped him and said, “Maybe it wasn’t. We’re always gonna be the kids from the Isle. I tried to forget, I really tried, but those are our roots. And we all did what we had to do to survive, but it made us who we are. And we’re never gonna be like anybody else here. And that’s OK.” “And we can’t fake it,” Carlos added. “Yeah,” Mal said. “I mean, especially without my spell book.” “Well,” Carlos said. “If Ben doesn’t love the real you, then he’s not the one.” “But he’s not the problem,” Mal said. “It’s me. I’m thee one who has to decide if Ben is my future. We have this connection that I can’t explain because I don’t fully understand it. He admitted his love for me because he does. I just have to do the same if that is what I feel like my path is leading me to.” “Then give him a chance,” Carlos said. “If he cares about you that much, then he loves you for who you are, not who you are trying to be.” Mal chuckled and said, “Ben said something similar to me on the Isle.”_ _

__The group chuckled as Evie said, “I’m gonna make some changes to your dress, and if you’re up for it, only if you’re up for it, it’ll be waiting for you.” “I’ll be there,” Mal said. “I promised Ben that I would go and tell him my decision there.” Evie smiled and whispered, “We also need to talk about other things later,” as she and Carlos stood up, with Carlos muttering, “Come on, Dude,” as he carried Dude with him and walked away with Evie. Jay stayed where he was as Mal didn’t get up yet. He sighed and said, “If you decide to go back to the Isle, I’ll drive you back tomorrow myself.” Mal nodded her thanks and Jay got up and walked away. Mal sat there thinking, “I know Ben cares for me. And I know that I care for him. I felt something when he got captured. It was like my heart was hurting. Is that love? Do I truly love him?”_ _

__Carlos had put Dude on the ground and the two walked side by side. “Girl talk?” Dude said. “Crushed it.” Carlos chuckled and said, “Yeah, except when it come to asking Jane out, then I'm a total chicken.” Dude then stopped and sat as he said, “I’m gonna paraphrase one of the bravest boys I know. If she does not like you, then she is not the one for you.” Carlos sighed and said, “You really are a man’s best friend.” He rubbed under Dude’s chin, causing the dog to chuckle. Carlos stood up and said, “Come on, buddy, let’s go.”_ _

__Later at Swords and Shields practice, Jay was gathering the team, “All right, boys. Let’s bring it in. All right. You all know I come from the Isle, right? Things there are pretty whack. But there is one thing the Isle’s got on Auradon. If you’re strong, we want you by our side, girl or boy.” Chad had a feeling of where Jay was going with this and interrupted, “Hey. Jay, hold on here, we don’t, uh, we don’t break the rules here in Auradon. That’s over on the Isle.” Jay responded by pulling out the rule book and read, “The team shall be comprised of a captain and eight men. So, uh, give it up for your new team captain.” Lonnie then ran into the room as Chad said, “Whoa, what?” Jay gave Lonnie the captain’s whistle and Lonnie said, “Thank you.” The team bowed to Lonnie, Chad more reluctant to do so. Lonnie blew the whistle and said, “Give me 10. Come on, guys.” The boys got on the ground and started doing push-ups. “Pick it up, Chad,” Lonnie taunted. She blew her whistle and said, “OK, practice is over. Get out of here. Go get ready for Cotillion.” The team walked out, but Lonnie held Jay behind and said, “Wait until I tell my mom.” Jay chuckled and said, “Let’s get out of here. Oh, do you want to be my date for Cotillion?” Lonnie blushed and said, “Smooth, Jay. But yes. I’ll go with you.” Jay smiled and led Lonnie out of the room._ _

__Doug walked to Evie’s dorm room and knocked on the door. “Come in,” Evie called. Doug burst into the room and said, “I have a scout badge and s’mores. How could you go camping without me?” “What?” Evie was confused as Carlos and Jay didn’t tell her about the lie that they told Doug. “Are you seeing someone else?” Doug asked. “Are you? Is it Happy’s son? ‘Cause let me tell you, he is not as happy as his dad. Kind of a dark streak, in fact.” Evie sighed and said, “Doug, Ben was captured on the Isle. We rescued Ben and saved Auradon.” Doug stared and Evie and said, “So, you’re not seeing Happy’s son or anyone else.” Evie took Doug’s hands and said, “Don’t be dopey.” She leaned in and gave Doug a kiss on the cheek to confirm it. “Besides,” Evie continued. “We have dresses to deliver. It is Cotillion, after all. And you know what? I was lucky enough to have been given a chance and now I need to give someone else a chance, too.” Evie looked down at the hair pieces Dizzy gave her. Doug smiled and said, “My Uncle Bashful used to say that.” “Did he?” Evie asked. “Yeah,” Doug said as he and Evie took hold of the dress rack with the dresses they had to deliver. “But really quietly,” Doug added. Evie chuckled and said, “Let’s do this.”_ _

__Carlos ran throughout Auradon Prep after practice, searching for Jane. He found her outside in one of the gardens and caught her while she was on the phone. “Jane!” Carlos ran up to her and stopped her. “Uh,” Carlos said. “Would you go to Cotillion with me?” Jane nodded and said, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, sure. We’re all taking a stretch carriage over at 6:00.” Jane started to talk into the phone again as Carlos interrupted, “No, I mean with me.” “Yeah,” Jane said, still not understanding fully what Carlos was saying. “Want me to swing by your room?” Jane started talking on the phone again while Carlos sighed and said, “Uh, this is gonna be tricky. Jane?” He put his hand on Jane’s and pushed the phone down. He stared right into her eyes and asked, “Would you be my date for Cotillion? And, if you don’t absolutely hate me by the end of it, um, would you consider maybe being more than friends? Maybe?” Jane smiled and asked, “Like boyfriend and girlfriend? We can hold hands instead of slugging each other all the time? And we can text and I can tell you how great you are, because, Carlos, you’re really, really great, and I’m the luckiest girl in the world. You’re so nice and cute.” “Me too!” Carlos agreed. “I’m the luckiest girl….I mean, guy. Luckiest guy.” Jane suddenly hugged Carlos, who was startled at first, but then hugged her back, loving every moment of it. A woman’s voice came out of Jane’s phone asking if she was still there. Jane pulled away and said, “Oh. Sorry. I’ll see you later.” “Yeah,” Carlos replied. “Totally.” Jane smiled and walked away, talking to the woman on the phone. Carlos looked down and saw Dude sitting there, who looked up at him and said, “Good boy.” Carlos chuckled and petted Dude on the head. “Come on, Dude. Let’s go.” He raised a fist in the air in triumph as he and Dude walked away._ _

__Chad had snuck into Carlos and Jay’s dorm room again and used the 3D printer to make a fake version of Ben’s crown. He was wearing his royal suit and the cape Evie made him. He pulled the crown out of the printer and walked over to the mirror and put it on, admiring himself. “Oh, what’s that?” Chad said to himself. “Why, no, Audrey. I haven’t chosen my queen yet.” Suddenly his cell phone rang and Chad walked over and asked, “Now, who could be calling me?” He saw that is was Audrey and screamed, “Audrey! Audrey!” He dropped the phone, then got on the ground to pick it up as Carlos walked into the room and saw what was happening. “Chad. This is my room, Chad. What…” Chad held a hand up to Carlos as he answered his phone, “Audrey? Yeah? Yeah? Well, yeah. That’s wonderful news.” He turned to Carlos and said, “She got a flat tire in Sherwood Forest and she wants me to go fix it.” Carlos replied, “That’s six hours away.” “Really?” Chad asked. “Only six? I’m gonna be there faster than I thought.” He kissed his phone and stood up to walk out of the room, but Carlos stopped him and said, “Uh-uh. My printer, my crown.” “Oh,” Chad said as Carlos took off the fake crown. “Yeah, about that. Right. I’m coming, Audrey.” He charged out of the room as Carlos stood there and said, “Wow.”_ _

__Ben was in the King’s cabin on the Cotillion boat. He was getting ready for the big night. Chewie was with him lounging on a couch. Ben put the final touches on by putting on his crown. He looked at himself in the mirror. “Please,” Ben whispered to himself. “Let this night go perfectly.” He felt the Kyber crystal underneath his suit jacket and sighed. He looked down and saw his ring that Mal left behind sitting on the table. He picked it up and said, “I hope that I can give this back to her tonight.”_ _

__“Poor King Ben.” Ben turned around and saw Uma standing there in a dress and her braids up in a bun. Chewie jumped off the couch and charged at her, but Uma waved her hand and Chewie fell to the ground, asleep. Ben glared at Uma and said, “What did you do to him?” “Just knocked him out for a bit,” Uma said. “Better than what I’m going to do to you.” Uma’s eyes flashed red and suddenly Ben held his head in pain and knelt to the ground, not able to fight back. “This isn’t magic she’s using,” Ben thought. “She’s using the Force. Wait. The amulet I saw.” He looked up and saw the amulet peaking out from behind her shell necklace. “Where did you get that amulet?” Ben asked. Uma looked down and said, “This old thing? I found it six months ago. I thought it was just an old necklace that someone dumped. But oh the power it has.” “You,” Ben realized. “You were the one sending those nightmare to Mal. Making her go back to the Isle.” Uma clapped her hands and said, “Very good. You’re smarter than you look. But I’m curious. Mal was easy to break. But you. You’re something else. I sense that you have powers similar to this. Why would that be?” Ben tried to stand, but Uma sent another wave of power towards Ben, who screamed in pain, but kept his kneeling stance. Uma chuckled and held up Mal’s spell book and said, “I sense that a spell from this won’t affect you. And magic from my necklace won’t either. But if I channel my magic through this amulet, then maybe it will.”_ _

__“You need to take that off,” Ben said. “I recognize it. That is the Amulet of Anguish. Very dark. If you wear it for too long, your life will be forfeit. Or did the voice in it not tell you that?” “He lies,” the voice from the amulet said, even though Ben was telling the truth. Uma glared at Ben and said, “Nice try. I will use its power to take over all of Auradon. And I will get Fairy Godmother’s wand and destroy the barrier on the Isle of the Lost, releasing everyone. But there is something that puzzles me. You see, I thought the guardian of the Isle would show up to rescue you. But he didn’t show. And I saw how you fought off my pirates. Impressive, Ben. Or should I say, guardian of the Isle?” Ben’s eyes widened as Uma laughed and said, “It wasn’t too hard to put the pieces together. Thanks to the amulet, I can sense when the guardian was on the Isle last night. And his power signature was very strongly tied to yours. And the skills you used against my pirates made me even more suspicious of you so I reached out with the amulet and I saw that the guardian and you two are one and the same. But how you were in two places at once I don’t understand. Since you were tied up on my ship and somehow you were running around on the Isle at the same time. No matter, it looks like King Ben has some secrets of his own. Tell me, do Mal and her friends know the truth?” Ben just glared at Uma and said, “You won’t get away with this.” Uma just laughed, but Ben got angry and slipped into his Ben Solo voice, “You don’t know who you’re dealing with.” Uma was a little startled by Ben’s sudden deep voice, but she just smirked and said, “I don’t care. All I care about is getting my revenge on Mal. Now, I could have just used my psychic link I made with her when she first came back to the Isle, but you broke that, didn’t you? So I’m going with the next best thing. Breaking her by taking away the thing she cares about most. You. And you won’t be able to stop me once you’re in my control.”_ _

__Uma’s eyes glowed red as she channeled her magic through the amulet and started to sing a siren song. Ben tried to cover his ears but couldn’t. He tried calling to the Force spirits in his head, but the amulet affected them too and they couldn’t do anything. “Agathe!” Ben mentally called out, hoping to catch her attention. But the siren song was working as Ben’s eyes started to turn red. “Mal…” Ben’s last thought was before he became fully in Uma’s control as his eyes became red before turning back to their natural color as Uma laughed evilly._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Duh, duh, DUH. Cliffhanger. Don't worry, I won't keep you guys in suspense for too long.
> 
> Also, I don't own "It's Going Down". It is a cool song from the movie, though. See you all next time.


	23. Cotillion

Cotillion was in full swing. Guests were on the deck dancing to music as more guests came in. Evie, wearing a beautiful blue gown, and Doug, wearing a suit, walked on the red carpet and stopped to have their pictures taken by reporters, “Evie, you look beautiful!” “Thank you so much,” Evie said. “Did you design the barrette?” One reporter asked. Evie smiled and answered, “It’s beautiful, isn’t it? Um, no, it’s not my creation. Many of the hair accessories this evening are by a fabulous new designer. Dizzy of the Isle.” 

Dizzy was watching the Cotilliion coverage on TV and heard Evie say her name. “That’s me!” Dizzy squealed. “I made that!” Dizzy heard a thumping from above and her grandmother, Lady Tremaine, shouted, “Knock it off!” “Sorry, Granny,” Dizzy said as she quietly squealed and turned back to the TV.

On the deck of the Cotillion boat, Carlos, wearing a black and white jacket with red dress pants, led Jane, wearing a light blue dress with a pink ribbon on it, in and the two smiled at each other. Fairy Godmother, wearing a light blue gown and carrying the magic wand, came over and said, “Jane! There you are, my dear. And everything looks beautiful, my love. But we just need to ladle out the punch before the sherbet melts.” Jane stopped her mother and said, “Mom. I have a date.” Fairy Godmother gasped, “A date. Really?” She saw Carlos standing next to her and asked, “Do you have a date too?” Carlos looked at Jane and said, “Yeah.” “Really?” Fairy Godmother didn’t put two and two together until Jane took Carlos’ hands and raised them, looking into his eyes. Fairy Godmother finally understood, “Bippity boppity.” She quietly walked away as Carlos and Jane stared lovingly at each other. “After you,” Carlos said, leading her to the dance floor. 

The music and dancing continued for a while. Jay, wearing a suit with his usual colors, led Lonnie, wearing an oriental style dress, in and danced to the music. The music stopped and everyone applauded. Lumiere stood at the top of the stairs and trumpets sounded. “The future Lady Mal,” Lumiere announced. Everyone turned to look up, Adam and Belle standing at the bottom of the stairs. Mal walked in wearing the dress Evie made her. Evie trimmed the skirt so that it was a little shorter, and she gave Mal a sheer cape and Mal had her hair braided and off to one shoulder and wearing a small tiara on her head. Lumiere leaned in and whispered, “You work it, girl.” Mal chuckled as the audience applauded for Mal. She walked down the steps and Adam stepped forward and took her hand, leading her to him and Belle. “Hey,” Adam said. “Ben is almost ready. He's in the King’s cabin.” Mal nodded as Adam continued, “And you look beautiful.” “Oh,” Mal said. “Thank you.” Belle stepped forward and said, “I know we were shocked at first, but you are exactly what Ben needs.” “And lucky for me,” Adam added. “She doesn’t go by first impressions.” Evie then stepped forward and led Mal to the main floor. “How are you?” Evie whispered. “Uh,” Mal answered. “I sort of feel like I’m gonna throw up.” “OK,” Evie replied. “That’s OK. Look. We’re right here with you, OK?” 

Mal nodded as the trumpets blew as Lumiere announced, “King Benjamin!” Everyone started to cheer as Ben walked out to the top of the stairs. Mal stared at Ben with loving eyes as Evie whispered, “Go get him.” Mal walked forward as Ben came down the stairs. Ben bowed to her as Mal bowed to him. But when she looked up, she didn’t see the spark in his eyes like she usually did. Ben sighed and said, “Mal, I wish I had time to explain.” He looked back up at the top of the stairs and Uma walked out, startling everyone, especially Mal. Ben walked up and led Uma down the stairs, as everyone was gasping in shock. Ben met Uma at the bottom and leaned down to kiss her hand, like he always did with Mal. Mal saw that Uma was wearing Ben’s ring. She was at a loss of words when Ben led Uma to Mal and said, “Sorry. It all happened so fast. Something happened to me when I was on the Isle with Uma. A connection.” Mal couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “But, he has a connection with me,” Mal thought. She shook her head and asked, “What are you saying?” “I’m saying,” Ben started to say as Uma interrupted, “It was love. It was. I realized how alike Ben and I are, you know?” “We are,” Ben whispered as Uma giggled. “You’re so beautiful,” Ben added. “Ben,” Mal said. “Did you go back for her?” “He didn’t have to,” Uma said. “I dove through the barrier before it closed and I’m an excellent swimmer, so…” “You are,” Ben said lovingly. “Thank you,” Uma told him as she turned to Mal and took her hands, “Listen, Mal. I just really want to thank you. I do. For everything.” She then hugged Mal and whispered, “Thank you. Thank you so much.” She pulled away as Ben said, “Don’t you see, Mal? You never had a connection with me. That’s why you never told me that you loved me. So thank you.” Mal stood there in shock. “Was he lying?” Mal thought. “All this time? I don’t understand what’s going on.” 

Ben led Uma to the dance floor and music started to play and the two started the waltz. Evie pulled Mal toward their friends as they stood there in shock. “Not too thrilled I risked my life for him,” Carlos said. Lonnie leaned over and whispered, “We’re with you, Mal.” Jay walked over and whispered, “Let’s get out of here.” Mal was in too much of a shock and was suffering from a broken heart and couldn’t say anything, so she nodded and let Jay walk her towards the stairs. Adam and Belle stopped her as Belle said, “Honey, we’re so sorry. We had no idea.” “I’m gonna talk to him,” Adam said. “This doesn’t make any sense. Because…” But Mal moved to walk away. 

Jane realized that something was up as she knew that Ben deeply cared for Mal. She ran up to Lumiere and shouted, “Lumiere, unveil the gift. They need to see it.” Lumiere then announced, “And now, for the unveiling of King Ben’s masterpiece, designed especially for his lady.” Mal and her friends turned to look at the other side of the ship as the stain glass window Ben designed was unveiled. Everyone gasped and clapped. Ben stopped dancing and stared at the masterpiece, feeling some of Uma’s spell wearing off. “Ben did that?” Mal asked as she felt her heart mending back together. “Yeah, he did,” Evie admitted. Mal started to cry and said, “I knew it. He told me all the time. He’s known who I was all along. This just proves that he was right.” “He loves the real you, Mal,” Evie said as she led Mal back down the stairs. “A true love,” Mal realized. “Told you,” Carlos said as the group chuckled. Mal then heard a woman’s voice in her head saying, “Ben truly loves you, Mal. Help him. Something has taken control of him.” 

Uma ran over to Lumiere and shouted, “Cover that back up!” “I will not,” Lumiere said. Uma then chuckled nervously and told Ben, “Uh, why don’t you tell everyone the present you have for me, Ben?” She flashed red eyes at him, getting him under her control again, and Ben shouted, “I have an announcement. Uma will be joining the court tonight as my lady.” Adam stepped forward and said, “Son…” “Not now, Dad!” Ben shouted, his eyes flashing red, which Mal noticed. The female voice in her head said, “See? He’s not in control of himself. A darkness has taken over.” Mal suddenly remembered what Solo told her on the Isle, “There’s something here on this Isle that wasn’t here six months ago. An object of some kind. I can sense its darkness. It’s been absorbing whatever power it can.” Ben then said, “Uh, so, as my gift, uh, to her, I’m bringing down the barrier once and for all.” Everyone gasped at the announcement.

Over on the Isle, Harry and the rest of the pirates were watching the Cotillion coverage on the TV in Ursula’s restaurant. Harry said, “Mateys, we ride with the tide!” The pirates cheered with glee.

Over on the Cotillion boat, Ben looked over at Fairy Godmother and said, “Fairy Godmother. Bring down the barrier.” “I most certainly will not,” Fairy Godmother replied. Ben’s eyes flashed red as he shouted, “I am your King!” “Obey him,” Uma added. As Uma moved, Mal noticed that there was an amulet behind her shell necklace with a red gem in its center. She suddenly got a vision of Uma laughing evilly along with the dark creepy voice that was in her head with those nightmares. “Yes,” the female voice said in Mal’s head. “Now you understand. Only you can save him now. Prove that you are his true love.” Mal glared at Uma and said, “It was her. She’s the one who sent me those nightmares. She spelled Ben.” Uma grabbed Ben’s hands and made him look at her to focus back on her. “Uma found your spell book,” Evie realized. “No,” Mal whispered. “Ben can't be affected by magic. It’s that amulet around her neck. That has a different power source apart from magic. I can sense it. That’s what she used to spell Ben.” 

Before Evie could ask about what Mal was talking about, Mal stepped down and walked up to Ben saying, “Ben. Look at me.” “No,” Uma said. “Look at me. You love me, remember?” “No,” Mal interrupted. “You don’t.” “Yes, you do.” Uma said. “Ben,” Mal said. “Look at me.” “Bring down the barrier now!” Uma shouted to Fairy Godmother. “I do not take orders from you,” Fairy Godmother retorted. “Ben,” Mal said. “I never told you that I loved you because I thought that I wasn’t good enough. And I thought that it was only a matter of time before you realize that yourself. Despite the connection we had. Despite the declaration of love you shared with me that affected your betrothal contract with Audrey. But, Ben, look at that masterpiece. That’s me. I’m part Isle and part Auradon. It just took me a while to see that. And, Ben, you’ve always known who we were and who we can be.” “Don’t listen to her,” Uma whispered, putting more power into the spell, but Mal was winning. “Ben, I know what love feels like now. Ben. Of course I love you. Ben, I’ve always loved you.” She leaned up and gave him their first true love’s kiss, causing the crowd to go, “Aww.” Mal and Ben felt power come from their kiss and it sent a shockwave of pure magic outwards, shocking the crowd and Uma. Mal pulled away and she saw the red melt from Ben’s eyes and saw the spark in them again. He looked at her with loving eyes and whispered, “Mal.” Mal smiled as they both leaned their heads together, feeling their connection glow with the love they had for each other. Ben felt the Force spirits in his mind awakening from the spell like he was. “True love’s kiss,” Evie whispered. “Works every time.” 

Uma screamed with fury and charged at Fairy Godmother shouting, “Give it to me!” But then Chewie came bounding down the stairs and shoved Uma away from Fairy Godmother and barked loudly at her. “Looks like your spell on Chewie didn’t last that long,” Ben said as Fairy Godmother shouted, “Guards! Seize her!” Uma ran over to the side of the boat where she got trapped by all the guests, Ben and Mal in the front. Mal glared at her with glowing green eyes and said, “You. All of this was your fault. You put those nightmares into my head to make me doubt myself and go back to the Isle. You put a love spell on Ben. Because of that amulet around your neck!” Ben looked over at Mal and thought, “She figured it out. Smart girl.” He turned to Uma and said, “Uma. That amulet is dangerous. Please, give it to me.” Uma glared at everyone with red eyes and shouted, “You’re going to have to pry it off of me. I know you can.” Ben knew that Uma was challenging him to show off his powers in front of everyone, but he didn’t take the bait. Mal stepped forward a little and said, “Uma, I know you. I know that you are bent for revenge on me because of how I treated you when we were little. But you are so much more than a villain. And you have to believe me because I’ve been there. Do not let your pride get in the way of something that you really want.” Uma’s shell necklace and the amulet both started to glow as Uma sneered, “I know what I want. And that’s for you and Auradon to suffer.” 

She then jumped off the boat into the water below. Everyone looked over the edge to see where Uma went. Suddenly everyone saw a gold and red glow coming from the water as the water started to swirl and rise. Uma emerged from the water in her giant sea witch octopus form, sending a huge splash of water to everyone, soaking them to the bone. Uma laughed evilly and shouted, “True love’s kiss won’t defeat this. The world will know my name!” Uma used two of her tentacles to rock the boat side to side. She then reached one of her tentacles toward the boat and grabbed Ben, dragging him to her in the air. “Ben!” Mal shouted as the crowd tried to steady themselves on the boat. Ben tried to break free, but Uma’s grip was too strong. “She’s too strong in this form,” Ben thought. He looked over and saw that Mal’s eyes were glowing bright green as her anger started to rise. Uma just laughed at her. 

Suddenly Mal was surrounded by purple smoke and Ben shouted, “Mal!” Out of the smoke emerged Mal as a dragon, who took off into the sky, starling the guests as they were shocked that Mal turned into a dragon. Dragon Mal leveled herself with Uma and growled at the sea witch. Uma just chuckled and said, “Come on, Mal! Let’s finish this once and for all! But be careful not to damage your true love here.” She held up Ben, who was starting to fall unconscious, causing Mal to growl loudly. Uma swung a tentacle at Mal to try and hit her, but Mal responded by spitting a fire ball out of her mouth at Uma. The two girls went back and forth attacking each other as Ben thought, “They need to stop fighting. This isn’t the way to solve things. I need to get that amulet off of Uma so I can get through to her. I have no choice. I have to astral project myself.” “Ben!” Leia shouted in his head. “That would expose your other self to all of Auradon. Are you willing to risk that?” “I am,” Ben answered. “I would rather expose myself as Solo than expose myself as Ben having powers. Uma already sensed the connection between Solo and I. I don’t want to take her bait. I have to be quick so that I can stop this as King Ben. But Solo can be the one to get the amulet off of Uma. There’s no other way.” “Then,” Luke said in his mind. “Do it. We will be with you. “May the Force be with you,” all of the spirits said in his mind as Ben fell unconscious.

Uma noticed that Ben stopped squirming and said, “Looks like that King isn’t as tough as I thought. Catch him if you can!” She threw him in the direction of the boat as dragon Mal flapped her wings to try and reach him as the crowd on the boat gasped with shock. Fairy Godmother raised her wand ready to catch him.

But then Ben suddenly stopped in midair. Dragon Mal stopped her flight and looked around, sensing that Solo was here. Uma screamed with fury. Evie, Carlos, and Jay looked around and saw a figure standing on the roof of the boat. “It’s Solo!” Carlos shouted. Everyone on the boat turned and saw Solo on the roof and stepped backwards in shock. Solo smirked at Uma and said, “Surprise.” Uma didn’t understand, yes this was the guardian and she knew it was Ben, but the man in front of her looked nothing like Ben. She heard the voice of her amulet say in her head, “It can’t be.” Solo guided his body down to the boat and laid it in front of his parents and Chewie. Belle and Adam rushed forward and hugged their son while Chewie sat and stood guard. Adam didn’t know what to make of Solo and shouted, “Guards! Seize that man!” “Don’t!” Jay shouted. “He’s a friend.” “He’s the protector of Auradon,” Evie added. “He helped stop Maleficent and saved Ben during the coronation.” Adam sighed as he looked up at Solo and said, “Fine.” 

Solo glared at Uma and shouted, “You have something that doesn’t belong here. Give it to me!” Uma’s eyes glowed red as she shouted, “Never!” She swiped her tentacle to try and hit Solo, but Solo jumped into the air and landed on the deck in front of all the guests, shocking them. He stared up at Uma and shouted, “If you won’t give me that amulet nicely, then I’ll just take it!” He reached his hand out and used the Force to summon the amulet from her neck right into his hand. Uma screamed, trying to get to Solo, but dragon Mal blew more fire at her to stay away from the boat. Solo then said, “This amulet played with your mind, Uma. It took your hurt and anger and amplified your negative emotions. If you wore it any longer, your life would end. “No!” Solo heard the dark voice of the amulet in his head. “How are you here? The dyad died out millennia ago. I know who you are, Kylo Ren. You are no hero. But if you’re here, that means your other half…” “It’s Ben Solo,” Solo interrupted, talking mentally to the amulet. “And I’m here to make sure that no one will get their hands on this amulet ever again.” Solo pulled out his lightsaber and ignited it, startling the people around him. He dropped the amulet onto the deck and slammed his lightsaber into it, pouring all of his Force energy into the blow. He heard the voice scream in agony as it died out and the amulet turned to ash and dust before everyone’s eyes. Uma felt its power leave her and her mind cleared a little bit. 

Solo turned to the crowd and walked over to his parents and Chewie, who were kneeling next to his body. “Don’t be afraid,” Solo said. “I can help your son heal.” Solo raised a hand to his body and healed it of the injuries inflicted by Uma. Before everyone’s eyes, they saw color come back to Ben’s face. Solo looked at everyone and said, “Evie, Carlos, and Jay are correct. I am a friend of Auradon. I am here to protect all of you. It was time to come into the light. For Ben’s sake.”

But Uma was still angry at Mal and Solo. She growled at Solo and said, “No! You took away my chance at power! No matter. I can still defeat you like this!” She swung one of her tentacles at Solo, but Solo surprised everyone by flying into the air and hovering above the boat. Uma tried again, but dragon Mal spit another fireball at her and Uma ducked underneath the water to dodge it. When she came back up, waves rocked the boat, causing the guests to try and steady themselves. Solo used this opportunity to disappear and merge back with his body. 

Once back into his body, Ben opened his eyes and took some deep breaths as Belle hugged him and said, “You’re alright. That protector, Solo, saved you.” Ben pretended to be startled and said, “Wait! He was here? Out in the open?” “You knew about him?” Adam asked. Ben nodded as he stood up and said, “I’ll talk about that later. Right now, I need to end this.” 

He looked out and saw dragon Mal and Uma starting their fight back up. He took off his crown and jacket and handed them to Jay. Then he ran and dove off the side of the boat, despite the protests of those around him. “Ben!” Everyone shouted as Ben hit the water. Dragon Mal snarled at Uma as Ben came up from the water and shouted, “Mal! Hold on! Stop! Back down!” Uma just chuckled and said, “What are you gonna do, Ben? Splash me?” She leaned in and whispered so that only he heard, “Surprise me more?” “That’s enough!” Ben shouted as dragon Mal growled in the background. “It’s got to stop. This isn’t the answer. The fighting has got to stop. Nobody wins this way. We have to listen and respect each other. It won’t be easy. But let’s be bravo enough to try. Uma, I know you want what is best for the Isle. It’s time to change. Help me make a difference.” Uma felt the passion in Ben’s voice as she heard Ben say in her head, “I know that your mind is starting to see more clearly now. Don’t let your anger and hate rule you like the amulet wanted. Do what’s best for you. And for the Isle. Please.” Uma stared down at Ben. She reached on of her tentacles over to Ben and handed him back his ring. Ben looked up and saw tears forming in Uma’s eyes. He could sense that she was starting to feel remorse for her actions on him and Mal. Sure her rivalry with Mal was still there, but she understands that she went too far. Uma then looked at Ben and Ben heard her mind say, “I’ll keep your secret for now. But if you truly love Mal, then you need to tell her who you really are. I am sorry. For everything.” Uma then dove underneath the water and disappeared. 

Ben held his ring in his hand as he swam back to the boat. Carlos, Jay, and Doug went over and threw down the ladder for Ben to climb up. Adam held the ladder as Ben grabbed it. “There you go,” Adam said as Ben started to climb. Ben grabbed his father’s hand and was pulled up and over the railing. “Great job, Ben,” Doug said. Everyone started to cheer and congratulate Ben on stopping Uma. Jay handed him back his crown and Jacket and Ben put them both back on.

He heard screeching and looked up to see dragon Mal flying down and landing on the deck next to the stain glass window. Purple smoke surrounded her and she transformed back to her original self, but now she was wearing the same dress as in the stained glass window: purple ballgown with green designs, her purple hair curly, and a new tiara on her head. She looked down and saw that there were parts of her dress on fire and patted herself down to put the fires out. She looked up and saw Ben looking at her with loving eyes and smiled back at him. “She’s really amazing,” Ben thought. “And I had no idea that she would be able to turn into a dragon.” Mal then curtsied to him and Ben bowed to her. Two ushers helped Mal down the steps as the crowd cheered. Evie was waiting for her at the bottom. Mal took a big breath and said, “So, I did not know that I could do that.” “Tell me about it,” Evie said. “That makes two of us. More things to discuss later.” Mal sighed knowing that Evie was right. Evie looked down and saw another part of Mal’s dress of fire and blew it out for her. She raised her hand to Mal and asked, “Shall we?” Mal took it and said, “We shall.” Evie led her down to Ben and Mal meekly said, “Hi.” Ben looked at her and said, “You look beautiful. You look like you.” Mal smiled and Ben surprised her by pulling her in and giving her a passionate kiss in front of everyone. 

Carlos pulled Ben away saying, “All right, all right, all right, all right.” Adam and Belle looked over at Ben and Mal and Adam said, “How about that son of mine?” “Ours,” Belle reminded him. “Ours,” Adam said. Belle giggled and said, “Yes. How about his girlfriend? I think we’re in very good hands here.” “Yes,” Adam said. “Very good hands. But Ben still has to explain about that Solo character. He seems to know him…” “Adam,” Belle interrupted. “Let Ben have his night with Mal. We can talk to him later.” Adam sighed and nodded, knowing that his wife was right.

Ben looked at everyone and said, “I owe you guys so much.” Everyone around him nodded in agreement. “Got that right,” Carlos said. “Just a little bit,” Evie added. Ben sighed and said, “If there is anything that you need, or anything that I can do for you…” Evie then raised her hand and said, “Um, actually, there is, Ben. I know a girl who’d really love to come to Auradon. It’s Drizella’s duaghter, Dizzy. She’s like a little sister to me.” “Then she should come,” Ben said. “But not just her. There’s a lot of kids that I think would really love it here in Auradon. Kids like you guys who also deserve a second chance. Kids who shouldn’t have to suffer anymore. Maybe you and I can have a meeting soon and create a list.” Evie nodded her head enthusiastically and said, “Yes, yes, absolutely. Please.” Everyone around them cheered.

One usher stepped forward and said, “Lady Mal, we found your spell book below deck in the King’s cabin. Uma had it.” “He’s right,” Ben said. “She showed it to me before she spelled me.” The usher handed Mal the spell book. She looked at it and thought, “Even though magic is starting to become more allowed, I shouldn’t rely on it to live my life.” Ben heard her thoughts and smiled as Mal said, “You know, this seems like the kind of thing that belongs in the hands of Fairy Godmother. Fairy Godmother.” “Oh,” Fairy Godmother stepped forward and took the book. “That’s me. Thank you. Mmm-hmm.” “That belongs in the museum,” Mal said. “It does, yes,” Fairy Godmother agreed. “And I’m gonna take it.” “Go ahead,” Mal said. Fairy Godmother walked away as Mal looked at Ben and said, “I’m not gonna be needing it anymore.” Ben smiled and said, “Magic is a part of who you are, but you’re right. You don’t need to rely on it to live your life. I am here to help you any way I can.” Mal smiled at Ben lovingly.

Ben then said, “Now, I think I owe you a waltz.” He held out his hand as the crowd backed away and Mal took it. “Are you sure?” Mal whispered. “I mean, the deck is covered in water and….” “It’s OK,” Ben said. “Just remember. I’ll take the lead. Every turn will be safe with me. Don’t be afraid to fall. I’ll catch you through it all.” Mal smiled as the band started to play and Ben led Mal through the waltz. Everyone was impressed at how good they seemed to be. But Ben and Mal just stared at each other the entire time. It was like it was just the two of them, with no one else around. “This is what I’ve been waiting for,” Ben thought to himself. “Mal in my arms and we each have each other’s heart. I wish this moment could last forever. I will never let anyone get between me and Mal ever again.” The waltz ended and they bowed to each other as everyone clapped. They walked hand in hand to the steps and looked out at everyone who was applauding them. They looked at each other as they felt a song come into their hearts, and Ben let it as the group started to sing and dance,

_(Ben)_

_Looking back at yesterday_

_I thought I gave it everything_

_But still there’s so much road ahead of me_

_(Mal)_

_When I looked into you eyes_

_I guess I didn’t recognize_

_Who we are and all that we can be_

_(Ben and Mal)_

_Sometimes it’s hard to find yourself_

_But it’s worth it in the end_

_‘Cause in your heart is where it all begins_

_(Everyone)_

_We gotta be bold, we gotta be brave_

_We gotta be free_

_We gotta get loud, making that change_

_You gotta believe_

_Whoa_

_We’ll look deep inside_

_And we’ll rise up and shine_

_We can be bold, we can be brave_

_Let everyone see_

_It starts with you and me_

_Whoa, whoa, hey_

_It’s starts with you and me_

_Whoa, whoa, hey_

_It starts with you and me_

_(Evie and Carlos)_

_There’s something special that I’ve learned_

_It’s together we can change the world_

_Everybody's got something they can bring_

_(Mal and Jay)_

_When you take a look inside yourself_

_Do you wish that you were something else_

_But who you are is who you need to be_

_(Mal and Evie)_

_Sometimes it’s hard to find yourself_

_But it’s worth it in the end_

_‘Cause in your heart is where it all begins_

_(Everyone)_

_We gotta be bold, we gotta be brave_

_We gotta be free_

_We gotta get loud, making that change_

_You gotta believe_

_Whoa_

_We’ll look deep inside_

_And we’ll rise up and shine_

_We can be bold, we can be brave_

_Let everyone see_

_It starts with you and me_

_Whoa, whoa, hey_

_It starts with you and me_

_Whoa, whoa, hey_

_It starts with you and me_

_(Mal and Evie)_

_If we all can do our part_

_We know that it can be the start_

_To bring about the difference that we need_

_(Mal, Evie, and Ben)_

_I promise we can work this out_

_I promise we can see it through_

_Don’t you know it’s up to me_

_(Everyone)_

_It’s up to me and you_

_We gotta be bold, we gotta be brave_

_We gotta be free_

_We gotta be loud, making that change_

_You gotta believe_

_Whoa_

_We’ll look deep inside_

_And we’ll rise up and shine_

_We can be bold, we can be brave_

_Let everyone see_

_It starts with you and me_

_Whoa, whoa, hey_

_It starts with you and me_

_Whoa, whoa, hey_

_It starts with you and me_

_Whoa, whoa, hey_

_It starts with you and me_

_Whoa, whoa, hey_

_It starts with you and me_

_Whoa, whoa, hey_

_It starts with you and me_

_Whoa, whoa, hey_

_It starts with you and me_

_Whoa, whoa, hey_

_It starts with you and me_

_Whoa, whoa, hey_

_It starts with you and me_

_Whoa, whoa, hey_

_It starts with you and me_

_Whoa, whoa, hey_

_It starts with you and me_

_Whoa, whoa, hey_

_It starts with you and me ___

__Ben and Mal stood at the top of the stairs as the song and dance ended. They were both soaking wet, but they didn’t care. As people below them kept dancing, Ben pulled out his ring and slipped it onto Mal’s finger. They both leaned their heads in, reveling in their closeness. They looked out and saw all of their friends having a great time. Ben leaned into Mal’s ear and whispered, “Can you teleport us to the Enchanted Lake?” Mal looked up at Ben and whispered, “Why?” Ben chuckled and said, “Even though this party is all about you and me, I want to have some one on one time with you. I have a surprise that I want to give you. Without prying eyes.” Mal nodded and waved her hand around them, teleporting them away without anyone noticing._ _

__They magically appeared at the gazebo next to the Enchanted Lake and Mal saw that Ben had set up candles everywhere and there was a picnic blanket laid out with strawberries in the center on a plate. “Oh, Ben,” Mal said. “You did this for me?” Ben nodded and said, “I had Chip set it up for me. In the hopes that you would stay here with me in Auradon. Do you like it?” Mal nodded as Ben guided her to sit down on the blanket and said, “I have plain and chocolate covered strawberries for us here. Take your pick.” Mal reached for a chocolate covered strawberry and took a bite out of it, moaning at the taste of it. “I’ll never get tired of these,” Mal said. “I’m glad to hear it,” Ben said._ _

__Ben then took a deep breath and said, “There is something else I want to give you. I know that a lot has already happened today and we could have lost each other, so I feel that now is the right time to give this to you.” Mal tilted her head in confusion and said, “Ben. I know that things today could have gone worse, but true love prevailed. Especially for someone like me to say that is interesting.” Ben chuckled and said, “I know that. But something is telling me that it’s time to give you this.”_ _

__He reached under his suit jacket and pulled out the chain that had the other Kyber crystal on it, his crystal was safely in his lightsaber tucked in a secret pocket in his jacket. Mal stared at the crystal in awe and asked, “What is it?” “It’s called a Kyber crystal,” Ben explained. “It has mystical properties that are far beyond anything of this world.” “It’s beautiful,” Mal said. “But where did you get it?” “Solo gave it to me,” Ben lied, not wanting to reveal Agathe yet to Mal. “He said that this was meant for the person I love most. I had to guard it until the time was right. And now is that time.” “You’ve had this on your person this whole time?” Mal asked. “This seems so important to you. I can’t accept this.” Ben chuckled as he reached in to where he hidden his lightsaber thanks to the Force plus a little magic and pulled out his crystal from within the saber and showed it to Mal, “It’s OK. I have my own. It’s protected me a lot. So this other one is for you. It will help protect you from those who want to do you harm. I know that you have your magic to protect you, and I know that you won’t rely on it as much anymore, even though I am always fine with you using magic, this is just an extra protection. Please, take it.”_ _

__Mal took the chain from Ben and pulled the crystal out from its glass case and looked at it. She felt its mystical properties and said, “It feels warm. And comforting. Like it was meant for me. But it feels different from magic. Could this have similar power to what Solo has?” “Possibly,” Ben lied somewhat. “I don’t know. Solo is very mysterious, as you know.” Mal chuckled as she looked down at the crystal. It felt familiar to her, but she couldn’t figure out why. She put the crystal back in its case and put the chain around her neck and said, “I will have it with me always. Thank you.”_ _

__Ben smiled and said, “I’m glad to hear that. Mal, I know that there are some things we still need to talk about. But tonight I just want to cherish this moment. And I know that you are about to get some added pressure now that you are officially a Lady of the Court, but I will be with you always to help you. I love you, Mal. And I will do everything in my power to make sure that you are happy and cared for. I don’t want anything to get in the way of us. Because you make me a better man, and a better King.” Mal felt her heart melt at Ben’s admission and said, “Ben. I agree that there are some things we need to talk about. And I know my friends have some things too to talk about, but I also agree that right now, I just want to spend time with you. Whom I love very much. I’m sorry it took me so long to realize that, but I know that you will be with me no matter what. I will also do everything in my power to protect you and make you happy. Just as you have made me happy. My Ben.” Ben smiled and pulled Mal in for a passionate kiss, both relishing in the moment. Ben felt the Force spirits in his head wishing their congrats, and heard a comment from Han about Solo men which made Leia smack him in the head. Ben pulled away and leaned his head against Mal’s as they looked lovingly into each other’s eyes, never wanting the moment to end._ _

__Agathe was hiding amongst the trees surrounding the Enchanted Lake, watching the happy couple. “She did it,” Agathe said. “She admitted her love for Ben and they shared their first kiss. It’s good to see that she listened to me during the heat of the moment. I intervened just in time. Now Ben’s contract with Audrey is broken and he can be with Mal forever. Their future starts today.” She then magically disappeared to give the couple time alone._ _

__Near the Isle, Uma rose out of the water looking at her home. “I may not have won today, but I will free people from the Isle. Ben was right, that amulet amplified my negative feelings and used me. I won’t let anything or anyone use me again. I’ll leave Mal alone for Ben’s sake, but she is still my rival through and through. Ben and Solo may be one and the same, but I don’t understand why they look different from each other. I’ll figure that out in time. But for now, I’ll find a way to break the barrier on the Isle. Ben has his way, but my way will be faster. This isn’t the end of the story.” She then dove back under the water and disappeared._ _

__On the Isle, Hades was in his cave watching repeats of the coverage of Cotillion. He stared at the screen which was showing Mal with King Ben. He chuckled and said, “My baby is finally happy. And an official Lady of the Court. I know that she will find a way to get everyone off this rock. I don’t belong here.” He held his ember in his hand and said, “That Uma though. She will pay for hurting my daughter. I will make sure of that. No one messes with my sunshine. My Rey.”_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that concludes the events of the second movie. "You and Me" is a great song from the song, which I don't own, but at the end it gets repetitive which is my only flaw I see in the song. There will be one to two chapters in between movies 2 and 3 just so you know. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. See you next time.


	24. Some Things to Discuss

Ben woke up the morning after Cotillion feeling wonderful. He was happy that he was able to sleep in his bed again and not having to be tied up on a ship. He sat up and stretched, giving Chewie a few pets as the dog woke up. “Last night was crazy,” Ben said. “And wonderful.”

“It sure was.” Ben looked up and saw Han standing there with a smirk on his face. “Dad!” Ben hissed as he jumped out of bed. Chewie jumped off and ran up to Han, happy to see his best friend, even though Han was a Force spirit. “So,” Han said. “Did you enjoy your alone time with Mal last night?” Leia suddenly appeared and smacked Han on the head and said, “Smooth, Han. Really smooth. Give the boy a break. Mal finally admitted her love for Ben. It’s a big step for them.” “Indeed it is,” Luke appeared next to Han and Leia. He looked at Ben and said, “But was it wise to give Mal her Kyber crystal before she has her memories and Force connection back?” Ben nodded his head and said, “Yes. I felt it was time because I felt a push from the Force to do it. Since Mal doesn’t have her Force connection back yet, I want to protect her. I don’t know if she has immunity to magic like I do. Plus, I want to make sure that what Uma did to her thanks to the Amulet of Anguish doesn’t happen again. I know that I blocked the amulet from connecting her mind to it again, but there may be other dangers out there.” 

“He has a point,” Obi-Wan said as he appeared. “We don’t understand how the Amulet of Anguish got to this world. The only parts of the Force that should have shown up in this world should only have been Ben and Rey.” Yoda then appeared and said, “The Force is mysterious. Yet the Sith may still have some influence to it. Cautious, we must be.” Anakin then appeared and said, “Well, maybe that’s why the Force wanted Ben to give her the Kyber crystal now. To protect her from future threats. Magical related or otherwise.” Padme then appeared and said, “You really aren’t a romantic, are you? Ben also did it because of his feelings for her. Surely you understand that?” Anakin grinned sheepishly as Ben chuckled and said, “I know that I have to be cautious. But my relationship with Mal has finally been cemented. And I don’t want anything to come in the way of that. Now that the contract….” He suddenly remembered the contract and said, “Wait. Mal’s declaration of love for me last night along with our kiss should have broken it. I need to go see it for myself.” 

Ben’s phone went off and Ben looked at it and saw that his father was calling. “Perfect timing,” Ben thought as he answered it, “Hello?” “Son,” Adam said on the other line. “Can you come back to the castle today? I know that you have some kingly duties to do, but there are some things that we need to discuss about last night. And bring Mal with you, if you don’t mind.” “I will,” Ben said as he hung up. He looked at the Force spirits and said, “I have to go. My parents need to talk to Mal and I.” “Go ahead, son,” Leia said. “Do what you need to do.” The Force spirits disappeared back into Ben’s body as he ran to his closet and started to get ready. 

Mal woke up in her dorm room. She looked over and saw that Evie was still asleep, probably still tired from all the partying that happened the night before. Mal was happy that last night she didn’t have any nightmares at all. Not even dreams about Solo and the brown haired girl. She enjoyed a night of peace. She looked at the clock and saw that it was 9:00 AM. “I’m surprised I didn’t sleep in more,” Mal said. “I was up late last night with Ben at the lake.” She looked over and saw the crystal that Ben gifted her the night before and grabbed it. She looked down at it and felt its power in her fingertips. Suddenly she saw a vision of the brown haired girl looking out at a sunset, even though there were two suns. Then the vision suddenly ended. “What was that about?” Mal thought. “I’m now having visions when I’m awake?” 

Before she could think about it more, someone knocked on the door. Evie squirmed a little in her bed so Mal tiptoed to the door and opened it. Ben was standing there smiling and looked over and saw Evie still asleep. “Good morning, Mal,” Ben whispered. “I’m sorry if I woke you up.” Mal shook her head and whispered, “I was already up. What’s going on?” “My father just called,” Ben whispered. “He needs me back at my family’s castle to talk to me. And he wants you to join me. If you’re available that is.” “Of course,” Mal whispered. “I have a feeling that you have some things to talk about with your parents. And I feel that you may need my support. That’s what girlfriends are for, aren’t they?” Ben smiled and leaned down and gave Mal a kiss on her lips. Ben pulled back and whispered, “I will never get tired of kissing you.” Mal giggled, which caused Evie to stir a bit. Mal looked up at Ben and whispered, “Just give me 20 minutes. I will meet you out front.” Ben nodded as Mal closed the door quietly and went over to her closet to start getting ready. 

When Mal met Ben out front, she saw him sitting on his motorized bike holding two helmets. Mal smiled, then remembered, “I left the bike you gave me on the Isle.” Ben chuckled and said, “It’s OK. If you want another one, just ask and I’ll get you one.” “But,” Mal started to protest but Ben interrupted, “Hey, I’m the King, remember? It’s pretty easy to get another one. Maybe even some for the others, too. But if you want to wait, that’s fine too. Hop on.” Ben handed Mal a helmet and Mal hopped behind Ben saying, “Just for the record, I prefer traveling like this with you over the limo any day.” Ben smiled as he put his helmet on and said, “Good to know.” He powered up the bike and drove off toward his family castle.

Chip was waiting out front when Ben and Mal arrived. He smiled and walked up to them when Ben parked the motorized bike saying, “Welcome home, King Ben. And greetings, Lady Mal.” “Hey, Chip,” Ben greeted. “Are my parents in the study?” Chip nodded and said, “Indeed.” Ben held out his arm to Mal and asked, “Shall we?” Mal took his arm and said, “We shall.” Ben led Mal inside with Chip following behind them.

They arrived at his father’s study and Ben whispered, “Don’t worry. If you don’t feel like talking about anything, it’s OK.” Mal shook her head and said, “No. I answer whatever questions they have. And help you with any of those questions.” Ben smiled and gave her a quick kiss on the lips before he knocked on the door.” “Come in,” Adam said on the other side. Ben opened the door and led Mal inside. Belle walked up to them and said, “Hello, my dears. Ben, good to see you. And Mal, welcome. Please, sit down.” Ben and Mal sat down on a couch and Belle and Adam sat down on the couch opposite them.

“So,” Adam started. “We have some things to talk about.” “We do, Dad,” Ben admitted. “For starters,” Adam said. “It has come to my attention that you disappeared yesterday since no one could find you until yesterday afternoon. Care to explain what happened?” Before Ben could say anything, Mal said, “It was my fault. I ran away to the Isle because of all the pressure I was feeling. And Ben came to the Isle looking for me because he wanted to bring me back. But he was captured by Uma’s crew. Myself and my friends helped rescue him and got him back here. But Uma dove through the barrier before it closed and spelled Ben into loving her. If I hadn’t gone back to the Isle, then none of this would have happened.” Ben reached over and held Mal’s hand and said, “I am also partially to blame. I knew that Mal was stressed out and we didn’t communicate well enough. So it’s my fault too.” Mal looked over at Ben with loving eyes. Belle looked over at Adam with a knowing look. Adam sighed and said, “Well, I am at least glad that both of you are alright. But now we must be cautious. Uma is out there somewhere still and we don’t know what she will do now that she is free.” “Don’t worry,” Mal said. “We’ll find her.” “Good to hear,” Adam said. 

“Now, we need to talk about this Solo character that showed up last night.” Ben and Mal looked at each other. Ben sighed and turned back to his parents and said, “I know him.” “Ben,” Belle said. “Why didn’t you say anything about him to us?” “Because,” Ben answered. “He told me to keep him a secret. This was back during the magic ban days. He just wanted to be a silent protector of Auradon. And the Isle.” “What do you know about him?” Adam asked. “Well,” Ben said. “He’s actually the one who rescued me when I ran away from my 7th birthday party. He carried me to safety so that I could be found by you. But he’s only visited me a few times over the past ten years. He comes only when he deems it necessary.” “So,” Belle said. “You can’t call out to him or anything?” Ben shook his head as Adam sighed, “I am grateful that he rescued you. But I can’t trust someone that I don’t know anything about. He could be a danger to Auradon.” “But he’s not!” Ben argued. “He helped Mal and her friends defeat Maleficent.” “Ben’s right,” Mal said. “He came to protect Ben and all of us from my mother. He also has appeared on the Isle to defend those who can’t defend themselves. He helped stop Mad Madam Mim from her evil. He's done good for Auradon. He just likes to keep to himself, I guess.” “I understand all of that,” Adam said. “But if he likes to keep to himself, then why reveal himself to all of Auradon during the Cotillion?” “I don’t know,” Ben answered. “Maybe he felt it was time. I guess.” Mal nodded in agreement. Belle said, “Whatever the case, he has at least earn my gratitude. If you two ever see him again, then please let him know that.” Ben and Mal nodded as Adam added, “But I still don’t trust him.” 

Ben nodded then asked, “Dad. There was something I wanted to ask you. Can I please see the betrothal contract?” Mal stared at Ben with confusion. “Why would Ben want to see that?” Mal thought. “After what happened last night?” Adam nodded and stood up and walked over to his desk and pulled out the contract. He walked over and handed it to Ben and Ben nodded his thanks. He opened it up and looked at it. He then started to tear up as Mal asked, “Ben. What’s wrong?” Ben just looked over at Mal and smiled saying, “Look for yourself.” Mal looked at the document and saw that the word “Void” in big letters etched across the entire contract covering up the paragraphs. Mal looked up at Ben and asked, “Does this mean…” “Yes,” Ben said as tears started to leak down his face. “My betrothal with Audrey is broken. When you declared your love for me and gave me a true love’s kiss, that was the final piece to break this contract. I’m free to be with you forever.” Mal started to cry and threw her arms around Ben, who hugged her back, dropping the contract on the table for his parents to see. Adam and Belle looked at their son and his true love wit loving looks. They saw the big letters cover up the details of the contract and knew that Ben was right. Belle looked over at Adam and whispered, “Our son is happy. He can finally be with his true love.” Adam nodded in agreement.

Ben and Mal pulled away as Adam said, “Just so you know, Ben. We do have to sit down with Audrey and her family to talk about this. They have a right to know that the contract is broken.” Ben nodded in agreement as Belle said, “I believe this concludes our meeting. I know you two have a lot to do today. Go on. We’ll see you two later.” Ben nodded as he stood up and held out a hand for Mal to grab to help her stand. The couple walked out of the study hand in hand, leaving Adam and Belle sitting there with smiles on their faces.

Instead of Ben leading Mal back to his bike to take them back to Auradon Prep, he led her to the rose garden outside the castle. “Ben,” Mal said. “Aren’t we going back to school?” “Not yet,” Ben said. “I wanted us to have some private time. As I know that there are some things that we need to talk about.” Mal nodded, knowing that Ben was right. He led her to a bench in the center of the garden and sat her down on it. 

“Now,” Ben said. “I know that there are some things that you want to ask me. So ask away.” Mal nodded and said, “Right. Where should I start? Well, we haven’t really discuss how our minds seem to sometimes connect. Like when you somehow already knew what was on my mind during the Mim event, and you sensed the darkness in my mind from that amulet, and your skills against Uma’s crew seemed supernatural, and somehow Uma spelled you despite your immunity to magic…” “Mal, breathe,” Ben said. “I’ll answer all of those. Yes, somehow our minds connect sometimes. Maybe that’s why we dreamed about each other.” Mal pulled out her crystal and said, “Do you think it has something to do with these?” “Maybe,” Ben lied, knowing that wasn’t entirely the case. He also sensed that Mal had something else on her mind about the crystal and he read her mind and saw that she had a vision of herself as Rey while holding it this morning. He knew that she wanted to ask Solo that so he kept that piece of information to himself. 

“As for my skill set,” Ben continued. “Solo taught me how to defend myself. Especially with using a sword.” Mal somehow sensed that wasn't entirely true, but didn’t ask further. “As for Uma spelling me,” Ben said. “The amulet she had wasn’t powered by magic. She said that herself. So she channeled her siren magic through that instead of her shell and that’s how she spelled me.” “That amulet,” Mal said. “It has similar power to what Solo has. Maybe their power comes from the same source?” “I think so,” Ben said truthfully. 

He held Mal’s hands in his and said, “I know that there are things that I haven’t told you yet. And I know that there are things that you haven’t told me yet. I understand that there are secrets that we have to keep from each other. But I promise you that in time I will tell you everything that you want to know. And I hope you will do the same for me. All I am asking for is patience. Some things are still a mystery for me too. But we will figure out everything together. I promise. We are tied together forever. I love you so much that I don’t want to lose you again.” Mal’s eyes started to tear up. She knew that Ben still had some secrets about himself, but she knew that she also had secrets that she kept from him. She was happy that he understood that they had to keep things from each other for the time being. She loved that about him. She smiled and said, “I love you too, Ben. I will also make that promise to you. I don’t want to lose you too.” Ben smiled and leaned in to kiss her on the lips, loving every moment of it.

Ben drove Mal back to Auradon Prep and dropped her off at her dorm. “I have a couple meetings to attend today and some paperwork to look over,” Ben said. “I’ll see you later tonight at dinner, OK?” Mal nodded and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. Ben smiled and drove his bike away to go to his office. Mal turned and walked inside to go back to her dorm room. When she opened the door, she was shocked to find Carlos and Jay in there, also Dude, who was on Carlos’ lap, along with Evie, who turned around and said, “Mal, there you are. We’ve been waiting for you. We need to talk.” Mal gulped as she entered the room and closed the door. 

She stood tall and gathered all of her courage and said, “OK. Ask away.” “Since when can you turn into a dragon?” Jay asked. “Since yesterday,” Mal answered. “I didn’t know I could do that.” “What I don’t understand,” Carlos said. “Is that Ben was spelled in the first place. I remember that your mom’s freezing spell didn’t work on Ben. So how come Uma’s love spell did?” Mal sighed and answered, “Yes, Ben is immune to magic. But Uma must have figured that out and used that amulet she had to spell him instead. Its source of power is different from magic.” “How did you know she had that amulet?” Evie asked. “You said that she was responsible for nightmares you’ve been getting. What did you mean by that?” Mal sat down and answered, “They started a few months ago. They were dark, creepy. They showed all of my fears about fitting in here in Auradon and my relationship with Ben. All they did was add onto my stress. I was at my breaking point with them when I ran away back to the Isle. I thought that if I went back to the Isle, they would stop. But they didn’t. I still felt the darkness from them. That creepy voice in my head. But then Solo…”

“Solo,” Evie said. “You saw Solo while on the Isle? Was he at our hideout when I fell unconscious?” “And why did he not show up to help rescue Ben?” Carlos asked. “And why did he reveal himself to all of Auradon last night?” Jay asked. The three started rattling off more questions before Mal could answer and she was getting overwhelmed, even though Dude was trying to shout at everyone to calm down, but no one heard him.

Over at Ben’s office, he was going through some paperwork when he sensed distress coming from Mal. He reached his mind out and saw that her friends were trying to interrogate her about Solo. “She needs me,” Ben realized as he looked at the clock and saw that he had an hour or so before his first meeting started. He summoned the door to his secret room and walked through it so he could have some privacy. C-3PO walked over and said, “Hello, Master Ben.” “Hey, 3PO,” Ben said. “I’m just coming in here to astral project. This room has the best privacy to do it. Can you and R2 monitor my office if anyone comes looking for me?” “Of course, sir,” C-3PO said as R2-D2 came over and beeped a few times. Ben nodded his thanks as he sat in a meditative pose and closed his eyes to focus on astral projection.

Mal was still getting bombarded with questions when she heard a deep voice say, “You all could just ask me.” Evie, Carlos, and Jay stopped as they turned around and saw Solo standing there next to the window, leaning against it. Dude trotted over to Solo and said, “Wow. You appeared out of nowhere. How did…” Solo raised his hand over Dude and said, “You will not talk again until I leave.” “I will not talk again until you leave,” Dude said like he was in a trance before lying down on the floor. “Wow,” Carlos said. “How did you do that?” “Simple mind trick,” Solo answered. “I can persuade people, or dogs in this case. But only for simple requests. Nothing too major. Now, I have sensed that you are trying to dig some information about me out of Mal. And I think that she needs a break from you all. So here I am.” 

“Wait,” Evie remembered. “When I was falling asleep back at the hideout, the last thing I remember was being picked up by someone. That was you!” Solo nodded and said, “I just told your mind to sleep for a while. I needed to talk to Mal. And before you all ask, no, whatever I discussed with Mal is between me and her. I am sorry if you all don’t agree with that, but that is my wish. Unless you all want me to make you forget that we are even having this conversation…” “No, we’re good,” Jay said quickly. 

Solo chuckled and said, “Good to hear. Now, ask your questions.” Mal went and sat down on her bed as Carlos asked, “Why didn’t you show up to help rescue Ben on the Isle?” “I was there,” Solo said. “Just unseen. My power is actually limited on the Isle thanks to the barrier and I couldn’t go full out in order to rescue the King. Plus, you all had a pretty good plan in place. I just secretly intervened during the sword fight. Even pushed Mal to Ben in the tunnel.” “He’s right,” Mal said. “I heard his voice and then suddenly I was pushed down the tunnel and into Ben’s arms so that we could escape in the limo.” Jay then asked, “Well, why did you show yourself to everyone at Cotillion? I thought you liked to hide in the shadows.” “I needed to get that amulet off of Uma,” Solo said. “I had no chance but to reveal myself to everyone. Yeah, I could have just done it invisibly, but that would have caused a bigger scene.” “What was that amulet though?” Evie asked. “Something that should not have been here on this world,” Solo answered. “It’s a dark artifact that comes from the same power source as my powers do. I don’t know how it got here, but I destroyed it so that it couldn’t fall into anyone’s hands ever again.” “What power source is it?” Mal asked. “It feels similar yet different from the magic here.” Solo knew that Mal would ask this question one day. He sighed and said, “One day I will tell you about it. But today is not that day. I have secrets that I need to hold on to myself at this time. I promise you that in time I will tell you everything that you want to know. All I am asking for is patience. For now, just know that the amulet is gone and it will never affect you again, Mal. Like I promised when I destroyed the psychic link between you and it.”

“Speaking of which,” Mal said. “How did Uma do that?” “My guess,” Solo said. “It happened during your visit to the Isle during the Mim incident. Uma probably saw you four wandering around the Isle and did it then. She probably wasn’t happy that I broke it so she upped her game by escaping so that the amulet could be at full power. But she didn’t realize that the amulet would slowly kill her. I had to save her along with all of you.” “That’s fair,” Mal said, shocking the others. “What? Yeah, Uma and I have a history and we don’t like each other, but I wouldn’t want something bad to happen to her. Even if she kind of deserves it sometimes.” 

Solo chuckled but then felt C-3PO and R2-D2 trying to contact him and said, “This is where I must depart for now.” He turned to leave as Mal said, “Wait. When will we see you again?” Solo turned and said, “When it’s the right time.” He turned and disappeared right in front of them. “So,” Jay said. “That happened.” “He is very mysterious,” Carlos said as Dude said, “Finally. I can talk again.” “I may not like it that he is keeping things from us,” Evie said. “But I’ll respect his wishes. It seems like your a favorite of his, Mal. Like Ben seems to be.” Mal sighed and said, “I guess so.” She looked out the window and thought, “He has never really explained why I am having dreams about him and that brown haired girl. I hope one day I will find out. But what he said about keeping his secrets to himself for the time being, it sounds similar to what Ben told me. Why?” 

Ben opened his eyes as his spirit returned to his body and he took some deep breaths. He looked up and saw C-3PO, who sighed and said, “Thank the maker. I have been trying to alert you for some time. Lumiere has been trying to look for you as your first meeting is about to start. You must return to your office before he returns.” “Thanks, 3PO,” Ben said as he stood up and gave R2-D2 a pat and walked out of his secret room and into his office to find Lumiere. “I hate that I am keeping things from Mal and her friends,” Ben thought. “But I know that one day I will have to tell them everything. Especially Mal. That is going to be a hard day.”

Elsewhere, in a dark void, a mysterious presence sneered, “My carefully laid out plan ruined. My amulet destroyed. I almost had the power and life force of that sea witch at my command. But then he showed up. Ben Solo. Although I was defeated, I found out something interesting. Ben Solo is alive. I don’t know how, but I suspect this is the Force’s doing. And if he is around, then maybe his other half is there too. Hiding somewhere. But at least I know that Solo has be reborn as the King. That’s why I felt such a strong connection between Solo and the boy king. He’s using the boy as a vessel. Interesting. That must mean that Rey is using one as well. But who I wonder? I must make a new plan. I need someone new to draw darkness from. Solo has made that dragon fairy girl off limits thanks to him breaking the psychic link. And I can’t use the boy king as he is Solo. Maybe there is someone else who has similar darkness like that sea witch. I will watch and see who my next pawn will be…..”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to let you all know that the next chapter may take a few days longer to get out thanks to the Thanksgiving holiday coming up. I will try my best but spending time with family comes first. See you all later.


	25. The Months Fly By Quickly

The next few months flew by quicker than anyone thought they would. Cotillion seemed like a thing of the past before long. Mal was surprisingly adapting to life as a Lady of the Court pretty well. With Ben at her side, she was able to learn the ropes and handle the stress a lot better thanks to not having any nightmares curtesy of a dark amulet. She started to sit in on council meetings with Ben and listened to all of the complaints, laws, etc and helped make compromises and rulings like a pro, as well as helped Ben lift more and more of the magic ban on Auradon. “She really is showing that she is Queen material,” Ben thought. “She’s doing better at these meetings than Audrey ever did.” Mal was just happy that Ben was at her side every step of the way to help her transition from Isle girl to future Queen.

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Ben did meet with Audrey’s family, but just Aurora and Phillip as Audrey was still on a spa vacation with the three good fairies and Queen Leah was kept out of the meeting per Aurora’s request. Ben showed them the voided contract and while Phillip was a little apprehensive about believing it, Aurora knew that it was true and accepted it without question. She had been keeping tabs on events while Audrey was gone and saw what happened at Cotillion. She knows true love when she sees it. She convinced Phillip not to challenge it and he agreed. They agreed to help Audrey move on and to get Leah off of Ben’s back which Ben appreciated. 

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True to Ben’s word, he sat down with Evie and they created a list of potential Isle kids to bring over to Auradon. Ben knew and Evie understood that they couldn’t let everyone off the Isle at once as Auradon wasn’t quite ready for it. They understood that it was too risky at the current time to let more than four come as too many could run wild around Auradon, which is dangerous and would make the Core 4 look bad. Plus, people like Harry, Gil, and the rest of Uma’s crew were too dangerous at the present time to be potential candidates. Evie made sure that Dizzy was at the top of the list. They both decided to send application paperwork to the school on the Isle, Dragon Hall, and have students apply if they want a chance to come to Auradon. 

But they discovered that only Dizzy made an application. Ben and Mal were suppose to start a royal tour so that Mal could see more of Auradon, and Mal decided that she, along with the rest of the Core 4, needed to go to the Isle to get more kids to apply. Ben wanted to go with them, but Mal said that they could do this on their own, and she reminded Ben that the last time he went to the Isle, he was kidnapped and Mal did not want to risk that again. Ben reluctantly allowed the four to go to the Isle, but he knew that he would keep tabs on them thanks to the Force.

When the Core 4 arrived, they went to Mal’s old home, Bargain Castle, first to talk to various children to offer them the chance to apply for the VK program so they could go to Auradon to have a second chance at life like they did. However, none of the kids were swayed by their words and weren’t interested, much to the Core 4’s disappointment. The next day, they visited Dragon Hall to visit Dr. Facilier to try and bribe him to have him help get kids into the VK program by promising his daughter, Celia, a spot in the program. Evie even got her fortune told by Celia, who warned of a danger coming soon.

At the same time, Uma had been swimming around the Isle from outside the barrier trying to find a way in to let everyone out. She’s tried to find openings to no success and tried to get the attention of Harry and Gil, but they couldn’t hear her shouting. She tried using her sea witch magic, but it was no match for the magic of Fairy Godmother, especially now that the amulet she had was destroyed by Solo, or rather Ben as Uma figured out. She was still trying to process what happened at Cotillion surrounding Ben. Why was he immune to magic like hers but not to the power of the amulet? If Ben was the mysterious guardian of the Isle, why did both of them look different? Uma shook her head in frustration as she thought, “That King confuses me. Both he and this Solo are one and the same, but how I don’t understand. Never mind that now. I need to find a way to get everyone off the Isle. And make Mal pay…..” She stopped her thought at the thought of Mal. She still felt bad at how far she pushed Mal to her breaking point when she almost lost herself to the amulet. She knew that Ben was right and she shouldn’t let her hurt and anger rule her. But she still felt that her way of getting everyone out of the Isle was the best way. And she still had her rivalry with Mal. Despite Uma feeling remorse for her last plan, she still wanted to prove that she was better than Mal and win for once. And her way to beat Mal was to get everyone off the Isle.

She went swimming on the sea floor when she heard rock music. She looked around and saw a crack on the sea floor. She used her magic to fit through the crack and she found herself in a cave that belonged to Hades, who was jamming out to rock music. Uma cleared her throat and got Hades’ attention. The God turned and saw Uma standing there, growling internally as he knew that this was the girl who hurt his Rey. He smirked and said, “Ah, Shrimpy, is it? Why are you here in my cave?” Uma growled at the nickname and said, “My name is Uma, not Shrimpy. I wanted to ask you if you had your ember.” Hades had a feeling that Uma wanted to use his ember so he chuckled and said, “Yeah. What of it?” “It could be useful,” Uma said. “To get off the Isle. Aren’t you tired of living underground? In this damp and dreary cave?” Hades hummed, as he wanted to get off the Isle, but not exactly through the enemy of his daughter. Uma continued, “We should team up, you and I. Together we could bring down the stupid barrier that holds everyone here. Then we could all be free. And I will finally be able to defeat Mal.” Hades hid a glare that he gave Uma at that last statement. 

He decided to play with Uma a bit as he knew that Mal and her friends had returned to the Isle so he said, “Did you hear that Mal was spotted on Maleficent’s balcony last night? I thought it might interest you, given your rivalry with her.” He smirked when he saw Uma starting to fume. But then he felt guilt and regret fill up at the thought of his daughter. Uma growled and said, “Ugh! I can just picture it. Mal and her little minions, strutting around thinking they’re so great, as if they own the place, when all they did was abandon it. But back to my plan. We can use the power of your ember to lure Mal away so that I can grab the remote to the barrier off of her. I can’t get close to her because if she sees me, she’ll run the other way. I need her to come to me, where she won’t be able to escape. And where that Solo won’t be able to rescue her.”

“Solo?” Hades looked over at Uma with a puzzled expression. “Who is this Solo?” “The guardian of the Isle and Auradon as he calls himself,” Uma said, keeping secret about who Solo actually is as she did promise Ben not to tattle about it. “He’s really protective of Mal and her gang. Especially Mal. I used to have the power to beat him, but he destroyed it. All I have is my shell necklace. And he is immune to its power. Your ember may be the key to holding him back while I get to Mal.” Hades hid a smirk, he thought it was thoughtful that this mysterious guardian was protective over his daughter when he himself could not. He had a feeling that Solo would protect his daughter no matter what Uma has planned. “Yeah,” Hades said. “But I hate to break it to you, kid, but my ember doesn’t glow anymore. It’s useless.” 

Uma then said, “Do you see all these cracks in the tunnel? I think these cracks might let in a little magic. We’re so far beneath the island that Fairy Godmother’s spell is weaker here.” That made Hades perk up a little as he was interested in powering up his ember again. “A little magic?” Hades asked. “Is that so?” Uma nodded and said, “There’s only one way to find out, isn’t there? Bring it out. Let’s see if it still works.” Hades sighed as he fetched his ember and showed it to Uma, “It’s dead; I was using it as a paperweight.” He waved it around for show when Uma shouted, “There! I told you!” Sure enough, there was a tiny spark of blue light coming from the ember. Hades gazed at the ember with awe, he wasn’t powerless after all. Even after all this time since he last used it when Mal was a baby. Hades shook away the memory, not wanting to think of the last time he used his ember that had consequences for him and Mal. He knew that this wouldn’t be enough magic to get him out, but maybe he could use it to contact Mal. He didn’t want Uma to hurt her again, but maybe he could convince Mal himself to let him off the Isle. So he decided to play along and said, “You need Mal to come to you, right? Leave it to me. I’ll take care of Mal. Now scram!” Uma smirked and left the cave so he could be alone. 

Hades looked at his ember and thought, “My Rey. You will help me off this Isle. But I will try to protect you from the one who hurt you. And maybe this Solo will come to your rescue and I can see for myself who this guardian is.”

What Hades and Uma didn’t realize was that Celia was wondering through the underground tunnels and heard everything. She ran and found Mal and her friends, who were visiting former teachers to have them try to get more applicants but with no success. Celia tells them about hearing Uma’s voice in Hades’ lair, the mention of Hades causing Mal to feel a wave of sadness washing over her as she still felt sad that her father abandoned her. Evie, Carlos, and Jay didn’t believe Celia as no one could get through the barrier. But Mal felt her crystal that she was wearing underneath her shirt glow slightly as she sensed that Celia was telling the truth. Mal told Celia that they would be on their guard, much to her friends’ disbelief. 

Later that night, Mal was sleeping in their hideout with Jay keeping watch. Mal was dreaming about the brown haired girl again, but she was in a dark cave looking at a mirror that went on forever. “I want to see my parents,” Mal heard the girl whisper to the mirror making Mal tear up a little. But before Mal could see if the girl’s wish was granted, she heard a voice call her name, waking her up. “Mal,” the voice said. It sounded so familiar to Mal but she couldn’t place it. “Hey, Mal. My Rey of sunshine. Come to me.” Mal fell into a trance as she got up and walked to where the voice was calling her to.

Over in Auradon, Ben was sleeping when something startled him awake. He felt like something was off. He focused his mind and saw that someone on the Isle was calling Mal to them. “Mal,” Ben thought. “She’s in trouble. I can feel it. I need to get to her.” He closed his mind and astral projected himself as Solo to the Isle. 

Mal follows the voice to a forest where a blue orb glows as the voice continues to call her name, “Mal. You’re getting close. Come to me. Free me.” But then her crystal glows and she breaks out of the trance. She shakes her head a little and looks at the blue orb and thinks, “Dad?” 

Hades saw Mal through the ember and was surprised that Mal broke free of the trance. Now she wouldn’t be able to free him from the Isle. He knew that Uma was waiting under the sea near the pier she wanted Mal to go to. He whispered into his ember, “Run.” 

Mal heard the message and ran out of the forest, but ran right to the pier that Uma was near. She bumped into Dizzy, who said, “Mal! What are you doing here?” Mal took some deep breaths and said, “Just running around, I guess. I was following something, but then it disappeared. What are you doing here?” “We’re suppose to meet up at Curl Up and Dye, remember?” Mal flinched, knowing that she did not make this plan with Dizzy as the crystal was helping clear her mind. She looked at Dizzy and saw Uma’s necklace around her neck. She glared at Dizzy and said, “You’re not Dizzy. Uma. I know it’s you.” Dizzy’s eyes widened, but then smirked and Uma’s voice came out of Dizzy, “Very clever. You aren’t spelled like I thought you would be. No matter. You’re right where I want you anyway.”

Suddenly Harry and Gil walked up behind Dizzy with similar glows on their throats. “She’s somehow controlling all three of them,” Mal thought. Harry smirked and said in Uma’s voice, “You’re not welcome on the Isle anymore.” Mal just stood there and glared saying, “Really? And what are you going to do about it, Uma?” Gil chuckled in Uma’s voice and said, “I’m going to have the last laugh. You didn't break from those nightmares I sent you. So I’m doing Plan B.” “You really aren’t sorry for doing that do me,” Mal realized. Dizzy smirked as she said in Uma’s voice, “I am. Even though I may have crossed the line with that, I still want to prove that I am better than you. And I still want my revenge against you.” Mal chuckled, even though she was being backed up closer to the water as Dizzy, Harry, and Gil were walking toward her. Mal glared and said, “What makes you think this is going to be any different from every other time that I’ve beaten you?” “Those were measly little battles,” Harry said in Uma’s voice. “There’s a war coming!” “And in this war,” Gil said in Uma’s voice. “I will triumph, I’ll have everything, the Isle and Auradon!” “And you, princess,” Dizzy said in Uma’s voice. “I’m coming for you, Mal.” Then all three pushed Mal and she started to fall off the pier toward the water.

But she suddenly froze in midair before she touched the water. She looked up and saw Solo standing near the pier with his hand raised toward Mal, showing that he stopped her fall using his powers. He raised his other hand toward Dizzy, Harry, and Gil and the three fell to the ground, unconscious. He ran off and used his powers to bring Mal to him. Mal floated over to him and Solo wrapped his arms around her saying, “You’re OK. I’ve got you.” Mal felt strangely content in Solo’s arms, like it was if she was in Ben’s arms. 

But before she could think about it more, Uma appeared from the water in her octopus form scowling, “You! You ruined everything!” Solo let go of Mal and said, “Uma. I know you want to get everyone off the Isle. But this isn’t the way to do it. You’re so focused on your revenge on Mal and your darkness is growing. You’re still holding on! Let go!” Mal saw a vision in her head as Solo said that, but to the brown haired girl, who was crying, as Solo held out his hand to her because he wanted her to join him, even though the brown haired girl was begging him not to go that way. The vision disappeared as she heard Uma laugh and say, “You think your way to get us all free will work? I’m done waiting. The time for action is now. But you like to play the long game, don’t you? Just like you’re doing with Mal. Have you told her yet?” Mal got confused as Solo growled with anger and said, “You won’t get what you want today, Uma. I stopped you once, I can stop you again.” Uma chuckled evilly as she raised her tentacles above the water ready to strike.

But then a powerful force pulled Uma under the sea and pushed Mal and Solo away from the pier. “What was that?” Mal asked as she stood up from the ground. “That wasn’t me,” Solo admitted. “Someone else did that. But who?” 

In Hades’ cavern, Hades was grinning ear to ear and said, “There. My daughter is safe from that sea witch. Back out into the waves where she belongs. No one messes with my daughter and gets away with it. Sure I had to use the last of my ember’s magic to push her out and I lost my chance at escape, but it was worth it, for my daughter’s sake. Now, that Solo character. He is interesting. He did come to my Rey’s rescue. Who is he? Is he the other reborn soul I felt when my Rey was born? I wonder.” 

Elsewhere, Celia had found the cracks that was having magic pour in. She knew that over time, the villains could absorb enough of this leaking magic to break free of the Isle. So she decided to call upon her own shadow, since she had similar powers over shadows like her father, and commanded it to cover all the cracks so that magic couldn’t get through the barrier anymore. Once done, she felt proud of herself and knew that now she had a chance to get into the VK program thanks to her good deed.

Mal looked over and saw Dizzy, Harry, and Gil still unconscious and she ran over to Dizzy to check on her. “She’ll be alright,” Solo said. “She is recovering from being used by Uma. She’ll awaken in a little bit. When she does, you should return her to her home. Then you should rejoin your friends before they start to worry.” “What about you?” Mal asked. Solo picked up both Harry and Gil like it was nothing and said, “I’ll drop these two off back on Uma’s ship. Then I must go.” He turned around, carrying Harry and Gil on his shoulders, but Mal shouted, “Wait! Uma said that you haven’t told me something yet? What haven’t you told me? Does Uma know something about you that I don’t?” Solo sighed and said, “Uma isn’t lying. She does know something. But now is not the time to discuss it.” “Then when?” Mal asked. Solo felt a tremor in the Force, making Solo smile and say, “Soon.” He then walked away toward Uma’s ship, leaving Mal with an unconscious Dizzy.

Dizzy woke up a few moments later and asked Mal why she was there, but Mal chose not to reveal what happened. She escorted Dizzy back to her grandmother’s salon, where Dizzy gave Mal a new hairstyle, which was dark purple hair and a shorter cut. Mal then left and went back to here hideout where her friends were as they were about to go looking for Mal. The three rushed over and gave Mal a hug. Evie pulled away and said, “Your hair! You got a haircut?” Mal smiled as she patted her new wavy locks and said, “I ran into Dizzy.” “At this time of night?” Carlos asked. “Is that where you disappeared to?” Jay asked. Mal thought about if she should reveal what all happened tonight: hearing her dad’s voice, her showdown with Uma involving a mind-controlled Dizzy, Harry, and Gil, and Solo coming to her rescue. She decided against it and said, “Mostly. I was just taking a stroll around the Isle and I ran into Dizzy.” Her friends didn’t completely buy it, but chose not to say anything for now. 

They instead discussed the fact that they were not succeeding in recruiting kids for the VK program. Mal agreed that the way they were trying to recruit was not working. But then they all realized that they’ve been in Auradon for too long and have been trying to use things that appeal to good people and not people of the Isle. That fact made Mal a little sad as she knew that she had turned into a good person, but she understood that not every kid on the Isle was like her. They all agree that they have to appeal to the selfish desires that the kids have. Carlos thought of an idea called VK Day, which could be a holiday to celebrate children of the Isle and maybe that could help get more applicants excited. Everyone agreed and they told Dr. Facilier the next day about VK Day and how those students selected will be honored with a celebration spectacular that will include a parade, a band, and a kingdom wide feast. Dr. Facilier agrees to spread the word to the kids which makes the Core 4 happy. They tell him that they will return in a few weeks to make the selection. 

Elsewhere, Uma was outside the barrier again trying to get back in, but couldn’t thanks to Celia’s shadow blocking all the cracks. She is angry that her plan didn’t work. But at least she was interested in the fact that Ben still hasn’t told Mal that he and Solo were one and the same. “Maybe if Ben continues to lie to her,” Uma thought. “Then their relationship will fall apart. Oh, I would love to see Mal suffer like that again.” Then Uma thought about the power that forced her back to the outside of the barrier and realized, “That power wasn’t from Ben. It felt different from him and that amulet. It could be….Hades!” She screamed in fury as she realized that Hades double-crossed her and swore that her next plan would be successful.

The Core 4 returned to Auradon and told Ben about the VK Day plan. Ben was all for it as he wanted those kids to have a special day just for them. Ben let Evie, Carlos, and Jay plan the day while he and Mal started their summer tour of the different kingdoms in Auradon.

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Ben’s 18th birthday arrived on July 30th and the kingdom threw a big birthday bash for their king. Ben still wasn’t a fan of the big birthday parties, but went along with it to appease the kingdom. He and Mal at least had a small brunch with their friends for his birthday which Ben enjoyed. There was a ball that night that celebrated not only his birthday, but also Mal’s as her 18th birthday was the next day. Mal looked beautiful in the purple ball gown Evie made her and Ben wore his royal suit and they danced the night away in each other’s arms, without a care in the world. 

The next day, Ben surprised Mal with a private picnic at the Enchanted Lake for lunch and Ben fed Mal all her favorite foods and gave her a dragon necklace with a purple gem in the middle, which Mal loved. Ben had secretly made Mal an engagement ring to match the necklace, but he wanted to wait a few days before he proposed to her as he was secretly planning how he was going to propose to her. Even though Leia was trying to encourage him to do it now, Ben mentally told her that he knew what he was doing. Padme agreed with Ben and helped Leia to back off while Han tried to tell him that he didn’t need to make a big spectacle out of it and just marry the girl already, which made Leia smack Han, causing Ben to chuckle. 

The other Force spirits helped remind Ben that now that she was given her Kyber crystal, she would have to know the truth soon. Ben understood this as he hated lying to Mal for so long about him and Solo being one and the same. Uma had poked Mal with that knowledge in front of her face and Ben sensed that made Mal start to be suspicious of him. Mal was getting better at subconsciously guarding her thoughts more thanks to the Kyber crystal but from what he could get, she was getting more memories in the form of dreams and could feel some doubts she had about him. He was scared that Mal would be upset at him for lying for so long and even though he wanted to tell her many times about who he truly is, he remembered Agathe’s warning about not rushing things and that the Force will tell him when the time is right. He knew that the time was coming, but he was starting to get impatient about waiting for Mal’s memories of Rey and her Force connection to return but the Force spirits reminded him that everything will come to pass. Ben knew that and decided just to enjoy the moments he had with Mal and pray that the Force will act soon on this. 

Mal was still getting dreams about the brown haired girl but now they were definitely happening every night. She dreamed about the winter forest again where the girl and Solo fought and the girl sliced Solo’s face and chest, giving him a scar. She dreamed about the girl’s time on the island where she would connect with Solo from far distances. She saw Solo sitting across from the girl after the girl visited the dark cave and was feeling alone, and Solo said, “You’re not alone.” and the girl replied, “Neither are you.” She saw the two battle on a wreck with waves crashing into them and the girl running his saber through Solo’s chest, but then healing him afterwards, although the girl said something to him but Mal couldn’t make out what was said. One time, she dreamed of the girl in a dark corridor talking to a small creature who told her, “The belonging you seek is not behind you. It is ahead.” Mal would wake up feeling more exhausted than she did when she fell asleep. She wanted to talk to Solo about these dreams as he still never told her why she was having them and ever since her confrontation with Uma on the Isle, she wanted to know what Uma knew about Solo that Mal didn’t know. Why was he being secretive around her? What hasn’t he told her? 

Mal felt the same thing about Ben. Her senses were becoming more attuned thanks to the crystal he gave her and she could sense that Ben was hiding something from her. And she felt that it revolved around Solo. Did he know something about Solo that she did not? Are they more connected than she realized? She wanted to open up to Ben about these feelings, but Ben has been so sweet and caring with her that she feels safe with him. She could sense that he wanted to tell her something, but nothing ever came out. She knew that one day they both had to tell each other everything they held close to their hearts. She wished that that day would come soon. For now, she was enjoying her 18th birthday with her true love at the Enchanted Lake and was looking forward to the party her friends were throwing for her that night and VK Day, that was tomorrow. Things were looking up for her.

..........................................................................................................................

Audrey had returned from her semester off and spa vacation while Ben and Mal were on their tour and had to go to summer school at Auradon Prep as her spa vacation made her miss a couple classes. Her parents told her about the voided betrothal contract, but she didn’t want to believe it. Her parents tried to tell her to move on with her life, but she refused. And her grandmother was on her side as she wasn’t a fan of Mal. Her parents forced her to go to Ben’s birthday ball as they had to support their king. She sneered as Ben escorted Mal in. “Look at her,” Audrey thought. “She thinks she’s all high and mighty thinking that she is the girl for Ben. She’s wrong. They’re all wrong. I’m going to show him and everyone else that I am the girl for Ben.” She went to the salon the next day and got a new hairstyle: long blonde hair with blue and pink highlights. She knew that she would blow Ben’s socks off with her new look and that he would beg her to be with him again. 

...........................................................................................................................

Elsewhere in a dark void, a mysterious presence was chuckling, “Well, well. I think I found the perfect pawn for my plan. This girl has darkness growing inside her like the sea witch. Maybe I can steer her in the right direction to cause chaos and to give me power through her actions. Time to give her a nudge that will make her darkness grow….”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the week long wait. Thanksgiving break took a lot of my writing time away. But I'm back. And next time Descendants 3 comes into play. See you then!


	26. Good to be Bad

The night between Mal’s 18th birthday and VK Day was when Mal’s dreams took a strange turn. She could hear the people in her dreams speak more clearly. Because of that, she could hear the names of the people who appeared with the brown haired girl: the dark one Finn, the cocky pilot Poe, the small robot BB-8, and the small yellow creature Maz. But then Mal saw the brown haired girl standing in the desert with BB-8 where an old woman asked for her name, and the girl replied, “Rey.” But then Rey looked right at Mal and said, “You need to wake up. The time for reawakening is coming. Wake up!” 

Mal shot up in her bed panting. She looked over and saw that Evie was luckily still asleep. She calmed her breathing and thought, “Rey. That’s the girl’s name. And her friends. They seem familiar. Why? And what did Rey mean by the time of reawakening is coming?” Shaking her head, she got out of bed to start getting ready for VK Day. And to wake Evie up as it seems that the blue haired princess forgot to set her alarm.

The Core 4 arrived on the Isle later that day to start the celebrations for VK Day and to announce the chosen 4 for the VK program. Ben wished he could have joined them, but he was held back by kingly duties and Mal said that it would be better for this first visit for just the four to go and that he could join when they picked up the chosen four next week. They marched around the Isle singing and dancing alongside the kids of the Isle,

_(Core 4)_

_From the North to the South_

_From the East to the West_

_Lost boys, lost girls_

_You all know you’re the best_

_Hit the streets, it’s your day_

_Turn it up, now’s your chance_

_It’s time to get up on your feet and dance_

_(Mal)_

_Anybody wanna be like us?_

_Everybody wanna be like us!_

_(Carlos)_

_All the boys from Auradon_

_And the girls ‘cause they know what’s up_

_(Evie)_

_Your life could change today_

_Your life could change today_

_(Jay)_

_These streets named after us_

_Because we paved the way_

_(Mal)_

_Everyone come and take your shot_

_Now’s the time, show ‘em what you got_

_‘Cause everyone is gonna get their chance_

_They said that being from the Isle was bad_

_(Core 4)_

_Well, it’s good to be bad_

_And we’re proof of that_

_Used to be lost, now we’re on the map_

_Used to steal snacks, now we’re giving back_

_Remember that_

_It’s good to be bad_

_If you’ve got pride_

_Raise your V’s up high_

_Wave ‘em wide, side to side_

_Feel the vibe_

_It’s good to be bad_

_(Evie)_

_I wanna see you all rep your block_

_I wanna see you all rep your block_

_Show your pride, leet me hear ya shout_

_We’re from the Isle of the Lost_

_We’re here to celebrate_

_We’re here to elevate_

_If you’re down, then make your move_

_But you best not hesitate_

_(Mal)_

_Today’s the day that you won’t forget_

_The best to come ain’t happened yet_

_Take a bow, it won’t be your last_

_You’re from the Isle if anybody asks_

_(Core 4)_

_It’s good to be bad_

_And we’re proof of that_

_Used to be lost, now we’re on the map_

_Used to steal snacks, now we’re giving back_

_Remember that_

_It’s good to be bad_

_If you’ve got pride_

_Raise your V’s up high_

_Wave ‘em wide, side to side_

_Feel the vibe_

_It’s good to be bad_

_(Jay)_

_They can try to deny our style_

_But we weren’t born this way_

_‘Cause you can take the VK out of the Isle_

_But you can’t take the Isle outta the VK_

_(Carlos)_

_If you wanna make it hype, not a moment to waste_

_Make it loud, make it live, make it jump to the bass_

_Make it what you want, but you’d better make your case_

_‘Cause the Isle makes us and we’re reppin’ this place_

_(Carlos and Jay)_

_So when I say V, you say K_

_(Everyone)  
V-K, V-K_

_(Carlos and Jay)_

_When I say all, you say day_

_(Everyone)_

_All day, all day_

_(Carlos and Jay)_

_When I say V, you say K_

_(Everyone)  
V-K, V-K _

_(Carlos and Jay)_

_When I say all, you say day_

_(Everyone)_

_All day_

_(Core 4)_

_It’s good to be bad_

_And we’re proof of that_

_Used to be lost, now we’re on the map_

_Used to steal snacks, now we’re giving back_

_Remember that_

_It’s good to be bad_

_If you’ve got pride_

_Raise your V’s up high_

_Wave ‘em wide, side to side_

_Feel the vibe_

_It’s good to be bad ___

__The Core 4 were standing on a balcony near the bridge in front of all the potentials who had their applications in their hands. “Who wants to go?” Mal shouted out to the crowd. The crowd cheered as the Core 4 went down and collected all of the applications and picked out the four that were chosen. Evie faced the crowd and said, “I can’t believe this day has finally arrived. I honestly wish we could take you all with us and some day, very soon, maybe we can.” “Yeah,” Mal agreed and she and Ben had been working with the council to let more children from the Isle come to Auradon. “We’re gonna be back here so many times. You’re going to be sick of us.” “So sick of us,” Evie agreed as the crowd laughed._ _

__“Can I get a drum roll, please? First, I would like to begin, with the granddaughter of Lady Tremaine, daughter of Drizella, my sweet, sweet friend. My Dizzy.” Dizzy squealed as the crowd cheered and she ran up to Evie. Carlos held out an application and said, “Next, is son of Smee. Come on, Squeaky.” Squaeky timidly let go of his father’s hand and walked up to Carlos, who gave him a hug as the crowd cheered. Jay held out an application and said, “And no way we’re splitting up the twins, so get over here, Squirmy, come on.” Squirmy was nudged forward by his dad and the boy ran over to Jay. Mal held out an application and said, “And last, but certainly not least, we all picked this girl because we all agreed that she could use a little bit of Fairy Godmother’s goodness class. Give it on up for Dr. Facilier’s daughter, Celia.” Everyone cheered as Celia strutted her stuff as she walked to Mal. The Core 4 gathered the chosen 4 together as Carlos said, “We’ll be back for you guys next week, OK?” “And so,” Jay said. “Pack your stuff, your own stuff.” “Where are we going?” Mal and Evie asked. Dizzy and Celia squealed, “We’re going to Auradon!”_ _

__As the crowd was cheering for the chosen 4, Hades was hiding in the shadows looking up at his daughter. “There’s my little Rey of sunshine,” Hades thought. “So, she is only releasing four kids to Auradon? I thought she would do better than that. But it seems that she is returning next week. Maybe I could use that to my advantage.”_ _

__The week passed by quickly for Mal. She and the rest of the Core 4 were getting ready for the arrival of the chosen 4 kids of the Isle. Mal worked hard with Ben to help set everything up for them so that they had a smooth transition from the Isle to Auradon. They were going to have the kids stay at the house Evie bought for her business and where the Core 4 were staying for the summer since the dorm rooms weren’t open yet._ _

__But Mal’s dreams were still coming with a vengeance. She dreamed about Rey and Finn meeting the old smuggler and Mal learned his name was Han Solo. Mal remembered Solo mentioning that the old smuggler was his father so now she understood what the name Solo meant. She saw Rey learning about the mystical power source she had like Solo from a hermit called Luke Skywalker and from a woman called Leia. All three of them seemed familiar to Mal but she couldn’t figure out why. She saw the towering furry creature that flew spaceships with Rey called Chewbacca, or Chewie for short, which confused Mal as that was the same name as Ben’s dog, making her wonder about how Chewie really came to be with Ben. Did Solo send him and name him for Ben?_ _

__But by the end of the week, all her dreams revolved around Rey and Solo, but now she learned that everyone in her dreams wasn’t calling Solo that name. Everyone used a different name: Kylo Ren. Many of the people in her dream said that name in fear as Mal saw him destroy countless people and planets. She saw Rey standing over a crevice and saw Han Solo try to make Kylo come home, but Kylo ran his saber through his own father’s heart. She saw Rey call Kylo a monster as she and Finn fought Kylo in the snowy forest. She saw the countless times where they talked face to face despite being millions of miles away from each other. She saw Kylo about to kill Rey in front of his master, Snoke, only for Kylo to trick his master and killed him instead. She saw Kylo tell Rey, “You come from nothing. You’re nothing. But not to me. Join me, please.” as he held out his hand as they were surrounded by fire and destruction. She saw them square off in a desert as they both tried to bring a flying ship to them and Rey accidentally destroyed it with lightning that came from her own hands. Finally she saw Rey kneeling over Kylo as she healed him after running his saber through his own body and whispered, “I did want to take your hand.” But she couldn’t hear the name Rey told him. Was it Kylo? Was it Solo? Was it something else? Mal didn’t know._ _

__The morning of when Mal and the others were to go back to the Isle of the Lost to bring the chosen 4 over, all she saw were snippets of Kylo and Rey squaring off or talking face to face and she heard Kylo say, “You’re not alone. Join me, please.” And she heard Rey’s voice say, “No one knows me. You’re a monster. You can turn. Be with me.” That last statement Mal heard Rey repeat over and over to the point that she covered her ears in the dream to stop hearing it. But then everything went quiet and Mal looked up and saw Rey on the island sitting on a rock, looking out to the ocean, crying. Then Rey turned and looked directly at Mal and said, “Please. You need to wake up. The time for reawakening is coming. Wake up!”_ _

__Mal awoke panting and sweating in the early morning. Evie was over at the vanity mirror and asked, “Mal. Are you OK? You were tossing and turning a lot. Was it another nightmare?” Mal took some deep breaths to calm down and said, “Yeah. But I don’t wanna talk about it. Besides, I need to get ready. I’m suppose to meet Ben before the ceremony that he’s planning before we go over and pick up the kids.” Evie sighed, wishing that Mal would just talk to her about her troubles, and turned back to the vanity mirror. Mal got out of bed and walked over to the closet to pick out an outfit for the day. Evie secretly smirked, knowing that today was going to be a special day for Mal._ _

__Ben woke up in his room at his castle with Chewie lying at the foot of the bed. “Today’s the day,” Ben said. “I’m going to propose to Mal today. We’ll be officially engaged.” Chewie barked once as Ben chuckled and got out of bed to start getting ready. Han’s Force spirit appeared and said, “Do you really have to give her a ring and make a big deal out of it? I didn’t have to do that with your mom.” Ben sighed and said, “Dad. Things work differently here. Plus, you two really didn’t get married. According to Mom, anyway.” Han scoffed and said, “Sure she said that. She’s all about that romantic stuff.” Leia’s Force spirit suddenly appeared and smacked Han on the head saying, “Watch it. You are not going to ruin this big day for our boy. He’s waited long enough to get his chance to be with Mal. So zip it.” She turned to Ben and said, “Good luck, sweetie. We’re all rooting for you.” Leia and Han disappeared back into Ben’s body as Ben sighed, “I want today to go perfectly. Mal deserves it. And maybe soon, her memories and Force connection will be returned to her. I feel that the time is coming soon.”_ _

__Audrey woke up in her summer dorm room feeling confident. Her grandmother was going to visit her today during Ben’s ceremony and she knew that today would be the day to win Ben back. Sure Chad was still hanging around her hoping to date her, but Audrey knew that Ben was the man for her. As she was getting ready, she thought she heard a voice say, “Keep believing what you believe. Your dreams will come true if you fight for them.” She shook it off as she put on a pick outfit that complimented her new hair and she walked out of her dorm room. She didn’t hear the voice cackle with laughter and say, “Time for some chaos to start.”_ _

__Mal was standing on a balcony behind Auradon Prep with binoculars looking out at the ocean. For the past few weeks, she had been trying to find Uma ever since their confrontation on the Isle. She knew that Uma was planning something else as she knew that Uma wanted to get everyone off of the Isle her own way. She was so distracted by searching that she couldn’t sense Ben sneaking up behind her and surprising her. She giggled and said, “Not a tentacle in sight.” Ben sighed and said, “I think if Uma was up to something, we’d know by now.” “No,” Mal argued. “Ben, I know how villains think. And I don’t trust Uma, as far as I can throw her. She's gonna wait until our defenses are down and then that’s when she’s gonna strike. I really wish I had time to go do the dragon flyover because I can go so much higher.” Ben took her binoculars away and said, “Well, you can’t be everywhere at once. Besides, I’ve got your back. And I’m sure that Solo has your back too. Now, come on, everyone’s waiting for us.” “Wait,” Mal replied. “But you’re getting more guards? And you’re sure that Solo is watching?” She still was questioning Solo, especially after what Uma said and the dreams she had about him that week. Ben nodded and said, “I’m getting more guards, and I am pretty sure Solo has us covered. Now breathe. Now, come on.” Mal took a deep breath and Ben led her off the balcony._ _

__Ben led Mal to the front of Auradon Prep where a huge crowd was waiting as a marching band played. “Here they come,” Evie said as she, Carlos, and Jay are standing near the band along with Jane and Doug, as Doug was the marching band captain, but no Lonnie as she was spending her summer at home. Audrey was standing next to Chad and her grandmother, Queen Leah, who was not excited to be welcoming more Isle children to Auradon. Adam and Belle are standing near the stage with Fairy Godmother as Ben and Mal stepped up and the crowd cheered. Mal knew that Ben was about to start his speech and moved to step off the stage, but Fairy Godmother held her hands up and said, “Oh, Stay.” “Stay here?” Mal asked as Fairy Godmother nodded while taking a microphone and said, “Yes. Bippity-boppity, one-two, one-two, men everybody hear me? Yes! Here, Ben.”_ _

__Ben took the microphone and took a deep breath. He felt a little nervous about what he was about to do and part of him felt that maybe he should have done this in private at a more romantic setting, but he was the King and he needed to do this in front of the kingdom. He said, “Thank you, Fairy Godmother. What’s up Auradon?” The crowd cheered as Ben continued, “Thank you, thank you so much for coming out to welcome our new arrivals. They’ll be here soon.” “Not like we had a choice,” Queen Leah muttered with Audrey and Chad nodding their heads in agreement. “It worked out pretty well for the first four,” Ben said. “Yeah,” Chad shouted. “Especially for you.” Audrey snapped her fingers to reel Chad in and said, “Really funny.” She looked back up to the stage with longing eyes as Ben turned to Mal, reached for her hands, and said, “Mal, this is the exact spot we first met a year ago. I feel like I’ve known you my whole life. But did I mention, I’m in love with you?” The crowd awed as Doug pulled out a guitar and started to play a tune that Ben wrote up for the occasion and Evie, Carlos, Jay, Jane, Fairy Godmother, Belle, and Adam came up and sang some “Oooo’s”. Ben twirled Mal around as he sang his song,_ _

___I met this girl who rocked my world_ _ _

___Like it’s never been rocked_ _ _

___And now I’m living just for her_ _ _

___And I won’t ever stop_ _ _

___I never thought it could happen_ _ _

___To a guy like me_ _ _

___But now look at what you’ve done_ _ _

___You got me down on my knee ____ _

____At the end of the song, Ben had gotten down on one knee, causing Mal to start to tear up and put her hands on her mouth. Audrey was standing in the crowd in shock. “Mal,” Ben said after he passed the microphone to Carlos and pulled out the ring box from his pocket. “It’s you and me forever. Will you marry me? Will you be my Queen?” He opened the box and showed Mal the ring he made for her that matched her dragon gem necklace that he gave her on her birthday. “No!” Audrey shouted as Mal said, “Yes!” Ben smiled and stood up, putting the ring on her left ring finger. Mal started to cry as Ben gave her a passionate kiss as the crowd cheered. Audrey fainted in shock as Chad caught her. Carlos chest bumped Adam but then immediately said, “I am so sorry.” But Adam chuckled and said, “It’s OK.” Doug leaned over and said to Evie, “Makes our movie night seem a little tame.” “I love….movies,” Evie stuttered as she was nervous about saying that she loved him. “Me too,” Doug replied as Evie nodded._ _ _ _

____As the crowd celebrated, Leah shook her head in disgust, “A lifetime of plans. Gone. Our family status gone. Audrey, you were suppose to be his queen, and you let him slip through your fingers and let the betrothal contract break. Your mother could hold a prince in her sleep.” Audrey stared at her grandmother and said, “Don’t you think I feel bad enough already, Granny?” She heard a girl behind her say, “Ben and Mal are the best! I’m so excited for Mal to be our Queen.” Audrey turned around and glared at the girl and said, “You’d really rather have a VK on the throne than me? What is wrong with you people? What is wrong with everybody?” The girl and those around her backed away from the angry princess._ _ _ _

____Ben and Mal came off the stage where they were surrounded by their friends as Ben said, “I’m engaged.” Mal ran over and hugged Evie, asking, “What, did you know?” “Everything,” Evie answered. “You are going to rock that crown. OK. So I’ve only done about 1,000 sketches of your wedding dress, and Belle’s already planned an engagement party next week.” “Well, it’s a really good thing I said yes,” Mal said she walked over and hugged Adam and Belle. “I finally get a daughter,” Belle said. Adam hugged Ben and said, “Congrats, son.” “Thanks, Dad,” Ben replied. “I love you, Belle,” Mal told Belle, who replied, “Aw, I love you.” Mal went over and hugged Fairy Godmother who said, “Oh, sweetie. I’m so happy for you both.” Mal pulled away as Ben put his arm around Mal and said, “Thank you so much, Fairy Godmother. I think she liked it.” Fairy Godmother smiled and said, “Bippity-boppity, you betcha.”_ _ _ _

____The royal couple chuckled as Jay announced, “All bow to Her Royal Majesty.” “Oh, yes,” Carlos added. “Her Royal Purple-ness.” Evie, Carlos, and Jay bowed to Mal as Mal jokingly said, “Silence, you annoying peasants.” “As you wish, my liege,” Jay replied. “Your Crankiness,” Carlos added._ _ _ _

____Mal walked away, but Audrey walked forward and grabbed her arm and pulled Mal to her saying, “Congratulations. You won him fair and square. Oh, wait, no, you didn’t. You spelled Ben to destroy all of Auradon. Touching story for the grandkids.” Mal looked at Audrey in shock. Sure Mal did spell Ben, but she knew that Ben wasn’t affected by it and loved Mal on his own. Mal could feel darkness rolling off of Audrey and that scared her a little. Ben called out, “OK. Let’s do this.” Mal then smiled, knowing that Audrey was wrong, and said, “Speaking of kids, we have some kids waiting on us. So, if you’ll excuse me.” She walked away from Audrey, who just stood there in disgust. The Core 4 and Ben walked to the royal limo and got in it, Jay taking the driver’s seat as an usher said, “Congratulations, m’lady Mal.” “Thank you,” Mal replied as she got in the limo with Ben._ _ _ _

____Audrey watched as the limo drove away with anger filling her. “I should be the one getting the crown,” Audrey thought. “I am the one who should have Ben’s heart. Not that villain.” She turned and stomped away._ _ _ _

____Elsewhere, a dark presence chuckled darkly, “Yes. The princess’ darkness is growing. I can feel it. Now, there must be something that can channel her darkness and where I can continue to influence her. But what?” He reached out through the Force and saw a glowing green scepter and said, “Perfect. This is actually the thing I need and how I can collect her darkness to power myself. Things are all going according to my plan…..”_ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The third movie has arrived. And yes, I did decide to use this version of "Did I Mention" of which I don't own along with the other song in this chapter. I thought it was romantic and cute. See you later.


	27. Things Take a Turn for the Worst

The limo arrived on the Isle where a crowd had gathered to see off the chosen 4. The VKs and Ben got out of the limo and the Core 4 went over to get the kids while Ben stood by the limo and watched. Carlos and Jay went over to Squeaky and Squirmy, who were clinging to their dad, Smee, and Carlos said, “All right, boys.” “Let’s hit the road,” Jay said. “You’re gonna see him soon, OK?” Carlos reassured the twins. “Come on.” Squeaky and Squirmy gave one more loving look to their dad and they let Carlos and Jay lead them to the limo. Ben noticed the affection Smee had for his boys and smiled thinking, “Some villains do have soft spots for their kids. That’s good to know.” 

Lady Tremaine walked with Dizzy to the limo and asked, “Do you have everything?” “Yes,” Dizzy answered. “I have everything.” “Are you sure?” Lady Tremaine asked. “I’m sure, Granny,” Dizzy answered. Lady Tremaine held up Dizzy’s glue gun and said, “Oh, really?” Dizzy gasped, “My glue gun.” Dizzy took it as Lady Tremaine sighed, “I don’t know what you’re going to do without me.” She tried to hide a sad look, but Dizzy saw right through her and said, “I’ll miss you.” Lady Tremaine tried to act tough and said, “Go on, go on.” Dizzy surprised her by giving her a hug and saying, “Goodbye, Granny.” Lady Tremaine held back tears, and let Dizzy go, shooing her to the limo.

Mal walked Celia to the limo and Ben stepped forward to them. “Here,” Mal said to Celia. “Let me help get this off of you.” Celia instead just threw her backpack into the limo trunk and Ben closed it saying, “OK. Let’s go and do this.” Celia just walked past Ben, brushing her shoulder against him, and she suddenly felt a vision hit her where she saw a tall figure in dark grey robes with a purple glowing sword fighting off something. She looked back at Ben, puzzled by why she saw that, but said nothing and got into the limo. The crowd cheered as everyone got into the limo and drove away towards the bridge.

In the limo, Evie was talking to Dizzy, “So, as soon as we get to Auradon, you have to try ice cream.” “And go swimming?” Dizzy asked. Evie nodded and said, “I can take you to the Enchanted Lake.” Dizzy squealed in delight, “I can’t believe I get to live with you in your very own castle.” Evie giggled, “It’s just a little starter castle.” Squirmy was up front with Jay, holding onto Jay’s arm for dear life. Jay looked and said, “Great grip. You play sports?” Carlos was sitting next to Squeaky and pulled out a peanut butter cup and handed it to Squeaky, “Here. Go on. Trust me on this.” Squeaky took a bite, and loved it. Carlos smiled and said, “I know. Dig in, dig in.” Celia held out her fortune cards to Ben, wanting to see his fortune, especially after that vision she had. Ben picked a card and handed it to her. She closed her eyes as she read his future. She opened her eyes and showed Ben the card and said, “You’re going to be a wise and brave king.” Ben looked at the card and saw a picture of a king holding a sword with the words wise and brave on it. Mal leaned over and said, “He already is.” “See?” Celia said. “The cards never lie.” Ben took the card from Celia’s hand, but when Ben grabbed it, Celia got another vision of the gray figure, but this time, he was staring right at her. She pulled her hand away, shaken by what she saw, but brushed it off for now, and held her palm up, wanting money from Ben. The King got the message and pulled out money from his wallet and handed it to her. 

He looked at her curiously as he sensed that she was a seer and knew that she saw something when they touched hands and when she brushed his shoulder. “She saw something,” Ben thought. “She seems uneasy around me. What did she see? Did she see me as Solo?” 

Back in Auradon, the people of Auradon were still standing in front of Auradon Prep waiting for the limo to return. They watched on a giant TV the limo passing through the barrier as it opened. Queen Leah sneered, “The only reason they should be opening that barrier is for putting Uma back in, not letting more villains out.” Audrey stared at the TV and sneered too.

The limo passed through the barrier as a group of Isle citizens waved goodbye. But then, Hades ran forward and reached his hand, which was holding the ember, through the barrier as it was closing. Evie looked back and shouted, “It’s Hades! Stop the car. He’s trying to escape.” The limo stopped and everyone got out of the car to square off against Hades. Hades glared at the kids and shouted, “I am a god. I don’t belong here.” Carlos and Jay ran to push Hades back in, but Hades sent a power blast toward the boys with his ember and blasted the boys back, both of them hitting the trunk of the limo. Hades glared at Ben and shouted, “Your father forced me to bring most of these villains back from the dead to imprison them here. And this is the thanks I get? I should be free!” He sent a more powerful blast at Ben, hitting the King and sent him flying further back, where Ben hit the front of the limo before tumbling to the ground. Mal got angry and glared at Hades with glowing green eyes and transformed into a dragon to fight Hades off. Hades stared at Mal thinking, “My Rey of sunshine. I know you hate me. But you were the one who was suppose to free me. You were my only hope. You will let me free.” Dragon Mal blew a fire blast at Hades, who blocked it with the ember and thought, “She is more than her mother’s magic. She has a power far beyond anything of this world. I have sensed it. She doesn’t need this magic. Now, I will make sure that I won’t make the same mistake I did years ago with Mal.” The ember sent a blast that hit dragon Mal which made her start to weaken.

Back in Auradon, everyone saw the attack on the big TV and people started to panic. “Do not panic, OK?” Fairy Godmother reassured everyone. “Nobody needs to panic.” “It’s Ben,” Belle said. “He’s in trouble.” Audrey glared at the screen and shouted, “There’s your precious Queen. She can’t even protect us.” Fairy Godmother started to panic and said, “OK. We’re panicking. Bippity-boppity run.” Everyone in Auradon started to run away in panic.

Dragon Mal was still getting blasted from Hades’ ember and she was having trouble fighting it off. “Come on, Mal,” Jay said. “Blast him.” Ben could sense that Mal was having trouble and sensed that Hades was doing something to her. “I have to help her,” Ben thought. He saw that everyone was in front of him and focused on Hades so hopefully no one saw him. “Ben!” Luke said in his head. “If you are about to do what I think you’re about to do, you must be careful.” “I will,” Ben mentally said. “Mal needs help. Hades must be doing something to her. She’s getting weaker. I can feel it. Hades must be draining her of her magic to power his ember. But just her magic. Her lifeforce could be next if he keeps this up.” 

Ben stood tall and raised his hand toward Hades and summoned the Force to push Hades backwards so that the barrier could close. Hades looked shocked from his spot on the ground where he was thrown and stared at Ben. He saw a gold flash in Ben’s eyes and Hades saw Solo for a second in Ben’s place before he blinked and saw Ben again. “It’s him,” Hades thought. “He’s the other reborn soul I felt that day my daughter was born. He has the same power that I felt in Rey, but much stronger.” 

Dragon Mal was relieved that Hades stopped his attack on her, but she knew that she wasn’t the one to blast Hades back. Was Solo here? She looked around and saw Ben lowering his hand. Was she seeing things? Did Ben do that? But Mal was more focused on herself as she struggled to get back to the ground. Ben ran forward to where Mal was landing on the limo as she transformed back into herself. Ben helped down as Mal held herself in pain. Hades saw this and instantly felt guilt. “I took too much.” He looked down at his ember and felt some of Mal’s life-force in the ember. “I only wanted to take some of her magic to power the ember. But I hurt her. Again.” Evie ran over to Mal and asked, “Are you OK?” Mal shook her head and said, “He was draining all of my magic with the ember, and I felt all of my powers slipping away.” “You’re safe,” Evie said. “He’s back where he belongs.” Ben looked over at Hades and was surprised to see a sad look on Hades’ face. Like he looked guilty for what he did. “He didn’t want to hurt her,” Ben realized in his mind. He looked back at Mal and saw the Kyber crystal around her neck glowing softly. “The crystal should help heal her,” Ben thought. “Her magic will return shortly.” Mal glared at Hades and said, “Yeah, for now.” Jay walked to Mal and said, “We should go.” Mal nodded and Ben helped Mal get into the limo as Hades shook away his sad feelings and put on a mean face, turning and walking away, scaring the crowd around him.

Later that night, Audrey was in her dorm room, as she still had some summer school classes to take. She was writing in her journal and drawing a picture of herself with the Queen’s crown on her head as she sat crying on her bed. She stopped for a second to look around at the pictures of her and Ben that she put around her room, wishing that she could have been chosen as Queen and not Mal. She looked back down at her drawing as she heard a dark voice in her head say, “You are better than that villain. You should be Queen. Fight for it.” She put down her pencil and started to sing her ballad that came onto her heart, 

I’m so tired of pretending

Where’s my happy ending?

I followed all the rules

I drew inside the lines

I never asked for anything 

That wasn’t mine

I waited patiently for my time

But when it finally came

He called her name

And now I feel

This overwhelming pain

I mean, it’s in my veins

I mean, it’s in my brain

My thoughts are running in a circle

Like a toy train

I’m kind of like a perfect picture

With a broken frame

I know exactly who to blame

I never thought of myself as mean

I always thought that I’d be the Queen

And there’s no in between

‘Cause if I can’t have that

Then I will be the leader

Of the dark and the bad

Now’s there the devil on my shoulder

Where the angels use to be

And he’s calling my the Queen

“Good,” Audrey heard the dark voice say. “You know that you are the Queen. Take what is rightfully yours. The Queen of Mean.” Audrey looked over and grabbed the fire poker from her fireplace and left her room.

She walked all the way to the museum where she knew the Queen’s crown was being displayed. She waited until the security guard was asleep before she slipped in. She walked over to his computer and shut off all of the security cameras. She walked to the crown display and stared at the crown as she continued her song,

Being nice was my past time

But I’ve been hurt for the last time

And I won’t ever let another person 

Take advantage of me

The anger burns my skin

Third degree

Now my blood’s boiling hotter

Than a fiery sea

There’s nobody getting close to me

They’re gonna bow to the Evil Queen

Your nightmare is my dream

Just wait until they fall to my wicked schemes

I never thought of myself as mean

I always thought that I’d be the Queen

And there’s no in between

‘Cause if I can’t have that

Then I will be the leader

Of the dark and the bad

Now’s there the devil on my shoulder

Where the angels used to be

And he’s calling my the Queen of Mean

The Queen of Mean

The Queen of Mean

Audrey used the fire poker to break the glass containing the crown. She pulled out the crown and held it in her hand. “Yes,” the dark voice said. “This is rightfully yours. Now, you need one more thing to make yourself complete!” Suddenly a curtain pulled up and Audrey turned to see Maleficent’s scepter standing in the middle of a display, surrounded by different evil items. The dark voice chanted Audrey’s name over and over, calling her to him through the scepter. Audrey fell under its spell as she continued singing, 

Something is pulling me

It’s so magnetic

My body is moving

Unsure where I’m headed

All of my senses have left me defenseless

This darkness around me

Is promising vengeance

The price that I’m willing to pay is expensive

There’s nothing to lose

When you’re lonely and friendless

So my only interest

Is showing this princess

That I am the Queen

And my reign will be endless

The scepter flashed as the dark voice cackled in victory as his power worked on the princess and influenced the scepter’s power over her. Audrey suddenly had pink hair with blue tips and her outfit changed into a dark pink dress with black lacing over it and a black feather cape. Audrey put the Queen’s crown on her head and grabbed the scepter as she finished her song, 

I want what I deserve

I wanna rule the world

Sit back and watch them learn

It’s finally my turn

If they want a villain for a Queen

I’m gonna be one that they’ve never seen

I’ll show them what it means

Now that I am that

I will be the ruler of the dark and the bad

‘Cause the devil’s on my shoulder

Where the angels use to be

And he’s calling me the Queen of Mean

The Queen of Mean

I want what I deserve

The dark voice cackled, “Good. You are ready. Now, go spread your darkness and create chaos.” Audrey slammed the scepter to the ground and caused all the lights in the museum to burn out.

Mal was having a strange dream again. This time, she was getting several visions at once of Rey and Kylo Ren’s several meetings with each other in fast succession, words and phrases going through her ears quickly. She felt sadness, anger, regret, and loneliness coming from both of them. The visions ended on Rey and Kylo standing next to each other, staring into each other’s eyes, and Rey muttering something, a name, but Mal couldn’t quite make it out. She only heard one letter, B. “Could she be calling Solo….Kylo a different name?” Mal thought. But then both Rey and Kylo turned and stared right at Mal, which caused her to back away. But then Mal felt another presence behind her and turned around to see a woman in a dark cloak standing there, looking right at Mal. “The time is coming,” the woman said. “You must regain what you have lost. You must help him. Darkness is coming. Save him. Wake up!” 

Mal awoke, gasping for breath. Her phone was ringing. She got up quickly and saw that she was being summoned to Ben’s castle for an emergency meeting. “Who was that woman?” Mal thought. “What did she mean that I have to regain what I lost? And who was the him she referred to that I need to save? Is it Ben? Is it Solo….Kylo?” She shoved those thoughts aside as she needed to get ready quickly and head to Ben’s castle for the meeting. 

Ben felt a presence in his room that woke him up. He shot up out of bed and saw Agathe standing next to the window. “Agathe,” Ben said. “What are you doing here?” “I have to give you a warning,” Agathe said. “I sense a darkness growing here in Auradon. Something that could ruin all of your plans to achieve your destiny. This is all I can tell you. Be on your guard. You will be tested in a way you have not before. And there are choices you must make that will either help you or hinder you. May the Force be with you, young Skywalker.” And with that, Agathe disappeared. “Well,” Han said in Ben’s head. “That was quick. Even for her.” “She is right though,” Ben mentally said. “Something is coming. I can sense it, but I can’t make out what. I must be on my guard today.” His phone rang and Ben saw that his parents were calling an emergency meeting and that Mal would be joining them. He quickly got dressed, gave Chewie a pat on the head, and walked out.

Over at Ben’s family castle in a meeting room, Adam was surrounded by Belle, Fairy Godmother, Ben, and Mal. He started off, “I think we all know why we’re here. The people are in a panic about Hades. He almost got out.” Ben huffed, knowing that Hades had no chance to get out thanks to himself. Fairy Godmother added, “Who knows what he would’ve done if he had escaped.” “We can’t risk having another villain on the loose,” Adam said. Mal looked down and said, “I really feel like this is my fault. I’m suppose to protect Auradon.” Ben turned to Mal and said, “You did, you do protect Auradon. All the time.” Adam interrupted, “Every time we open the barrier, we’re exposed to danger. Maleficent, Uma, Hades.” 

Suddenly Ben’s phone was ringing and Ben walked away to the hallway outside the meeting room and answered it. It was the museum telling his about the break in the night before. “Why didn’t I sense that?” Ben thought as he put his phone away. He walked back into the meeting room and said, “Maleficent’s scepter and the Queen’s crown have been stolen.” The adults gasped as Adam suspected Uma but Ben said, “We don’t know that, Dad. Besides, this doesn’t seem like Uma’s style.” Mal looked at Ben wondering how he would know that. Belle said, “When the people hear this, they will never wanna leave their houses. What do we tell them? Mal?” Ben was shocked that his mother was asking Mal for help. Yes he was happy that his parents were finally being more accepting of her, but they were wanting her to take charge on this. “What do we do?” Belle asked. “How do we keep evil out of Auradon?” 

Mal thought for a moment, thinking that she didn’t want her father out causing havoc, and she wanted to protect Auradon, especially Ben. So she said, “I think that there’s only one way to guarantee their safety. And I think that there can’t be anymore going in or out. I think that we have to close the barrier forever.” Ben looked at Mal in shock and anger. “Why would she suggest that?” Ben thought angrily. The Force spirits in his head were trying to calm him down, but Ben didn’t listen. He started to breathe hard and said, “No.” “Son,” Adam started to say but Ben wasn’t listening, just saying, “No, no, no, no.” He stormed out of the meeting room and Mal followed him, trying to calm him down, “Hey. I do not want to take away your dream. Because it was so beautiful. And it is why I fell in love with you. But as King, and as Queen, what’s our duty?” “I know what my duty is,” Ben said angrily. “I know that I have to protect Auradon. But that also includes the Isle. Do you know what this means if we go through with this? All those kids? Do you want to just leave them there to suffer, like you did? Are you prepared for that?” Mal sighed and said, “I know what it means and no, I’m not prepared for it. I just think that we have no other choice.” 

“We have no other choice?” Ben asked. “Or you?” Mal stepped away in shock of what Ben said. Ben laughed angrily and said, “You know, villains have gotten out before and you didn’t suggest that we do this. But only when it’s Hades do you want to take action. Why is that? Is it personal?” Mal felt tears well up in her eyes, she has never seen Ben this angry. Well, maybe at Cotillion when he was under Uma’s control, but here he was, spell-free, getting angry and accusing her of making this personal. “Does he know?” Mal thought. “About my connection with Hades?” Mal got angry and said, “How dare you accuse me of that? You don’t know anything about what the Isle is like. You didn’t grow up there. You didn’t get abandoned….” She stopped herself before she revealed that Hades was her father. Ben glared at Mal and said, “I know more than you think, Mal. I know that you are keeping secrets from me.” “Oh,” Mal replied. “Just like you are from me? Like your connection to Solo? You know more about him than you will tell me. And the times that you can sense something from me. And I know that you had something to do with pushing Hades back through the barrier yesterday. You are hiding things from me too.” 

Ben stepped back in shock. “She saw me yesterday?” Ben thought. “I knew I was taking a risk, but she was the one to see me.” Shaking his head, Ben said, “If you want to close the barrier forever, then fine. Have your reasons. But I will never let that happen. I am not going to sit back and watch those children suffer for crimes they did not commit and not get the life they deserve.” He took a deep breath and said, “I’m going to my office at Auradon Prep. I need some space. I’ll see you later at Jane’s birthday party at the Enchanted Lake.” 

He turned to walk away when Mal grabbed his arm and said, “Wait. We need to fix this now. Just talk to me and I’ll talk to you.” “Leave me alone!” Ben shouted, his control of the Force broken, and he sent a shockwave toward Mal as she flew backwards and hit the ground, frames on the wall tumbling down and vases breaking because of the power Ben accidentally unleashed. Ben trembled in shock, horrified at what he just did. Mal sat up from her place on the ground and her crystal glowed and for a second, Mal saw spirits holding onto Ben’s shoulders, some people that Mal saw in her dreams: Luke, Han, and Leia. A second later, they disappeared. “Did I just see what I thought I saw?” Mal thought. She saw the look of horror in Ben’s eyes and tears starting to form in them. She could sense that he felt regret at what he did and horror that Mal discovered something about him, something he probably never told anyone. Mal stood up and started to walk to Ben, but Ben turned and ran down the hallway as fast as he could.

Adam, Belle, and Fairy Godmother came out of the meeting room as they heard the noise and saw Ben turning a corner in the hallway. “Son!” Adam shouted but Ben was gone. Fairy Godmother looked around and saw the destruction and asked, “What happened?” Mal decided to cover for Ben, as she realized that Ben probably hide his secret powers from them so she said, “I’m sorry. We were arguing and I lost control of my magic. I apologize. I’ll fix this.” She waved her hand and the hallway returned to its normal state. “Why was Ben running?” Belle asked. “He is upset,” Mal said. “He wants some space to calm down.” “Then,” Adam said. “We will pick up this discussion later.” Mal nodded as she looked down the hallway where Ben ran off. She felt a tear coming down her cheek as she thought, “What is he hiding from me? What was that power he used? It feels similar to Solo’s power. Why?” 

Ben reached his office at Auradon Prep and slammed the door shut. He was breathing hard and tears were leaking down his face. “What have I done?” Ben whispered. He summoned the door to his secret room and walked into it as the Force spirits appeared around him and C-3PO and R2-D2 came up to him. “Master Ben,” C-3PO said. “You look troubled. What would like to talk about it?” “3PO,” Leia said. “We will talk to him. Why don’t you and R2-D2 go to the computers and look into the break in last night at the museum?” C-3PO nodded and turned around and walked away to the computer, R2-D2 following behind. 

Leia turned to Ben and said, “Let it out, Ben. You can’t keep your emotions guarded. Not like the Jedi of old.” “Hey,” Luke, Anakin, and Obi-Wan said with Yoda giggling, “She’s right, though.” Ben collapsed onto the floor and said, “I let my anger get the better of me. I was so furious that Mal would suggest closing the barrier forever. I know she’s only doing it out of vengeance for Hades abandoning her as a baby. She hates him. I could feel it. She knows how powerful Hades is and wants to make sure he doesn’t get out. I felt my power get out of control. And I snapped. I unleashed my Force power at Mal. I hurt her. I’m a monster. Like I was long ago. I always will be.” Ben sat on the ground and sobbed into his legs, letting go of his emotions. 

The Force spirits looked at each other as the 18 year old King sat on the floor sobbing. Leia knelt down and put her arms around Ben, something that she wishes she did more when she was alive. “Ben,” Leia whispered. “You are not a monster. I know that Mal doesn’t believe that. You had an argument. It happens. Your father and I had arguments all the time.” “Hey!” Han interrupted but Luke elbowed him in the ribs. Leia continued, “You two both have secrets that you two keep from each other. Every couple does. It’s up to you to decide if they are worth keeping. Plus, if I recall, Mal accidentally hit you with her magic. So in a way, you two are even now.” That made Ben chuckled a little as he raised his head and looked at Leia with sad eyes. “I know,” Ben said. “I still feel guilty for doing that to her. I should have not let my anger get the better of me. It clouded everything else. I’m sorry for not listening to you guys.” Leia hugged Ben and said, “It’s alright, sweetheart. We forgive you.” The other Force spirits nodded in agreement as Leia helped Ben to stand and said, “Why don’t you get some work done? C-3PO and R2-D2 are looking into the break in last night. Then you can go get ready and meet Mal at Jane’s birthday party. Give yourself time to calm down so you two can talk. OK?” Ben nodded and dried his eyes. “Be on your guard though,” Luke said. “This break in could be related to the warning Agathe gave you this morning.” Anakin, Obi-wan, and Yoda nodded in agreement. Padme walked over and gave Ben a hug saying, “Everything will be OK between you and Mal. I know it. True love always conquers all.” Ben smiled as he pulled away. The Force spirits smiled as they disappeared back into Ben’s body. He sighed and left his secret room, going back to his office to get some work done before he has to leave for Jane’s party. 

Mal returned to the house Evie bought for the Core 4 and was discussing the meeting with Evie, leaving some parts out. “Who else knows about the crown and the scepter?” Evie asked. “No one,” Mal said. “I mean, think about it, people are scared enough as it is. We have to employ these entirely new security measures.” “Will this delay our bringing over more VKs?” Evie asked. Mal sighed and said, “We’re talking about closing the barrier for good.” “But you said no,” Evie guessed. “I mean, the four of us are living the dream here, and we finally get to share that. I mean, what could be more important that that?” “Yeah,” Mal lied. “I know. I mean, maybe security and maybe peace of mind for everyone in Auradon.” “Is that what they’re thinking?” Evie asked. “And were they seriously thinking that no one will ever go in or out of the Isle ever again? What, we never get to go back and see our parents? And what about these kids? We promised them that they could go back and visit whenever they want.” “Yeah, I know,” Mal said. “And what about Ben?” Evie asked. “Surely he can’t agree to this.” “He’s not taking it well,” Mal said. “He went to his office at Auradon Prep where he wants to be left alone for a while.” Evie stood up and held Mal’s hand saying, “M, I am so glad that you are going to be Queen. You will be a part of these conversations, you will stand up for the VKs. Thank you for telling me. Now, will Ben at least be coming to Jane’s birthday?” Mal nodded, feeling guilty at lying to Evie. “Maybe Ben feels the same way for keeping things from me,” Mal thought. “I feel a little guilty for keeping things from him. It must be a heavy weight on his shoulders.” Evie hugged Mal then pulled back saying, “Now. Let’s get ready for Jane’s birthday.”

The Core 4 were getting everything prepared to go over to the Enchanted Lake. “Got the beach towels,” Carlos said. Evie was throwing food items at Jay, who caught them and put them in picnic baskets. Carlos set the towels down and said, “I really think she’s gonna like the cake, you guys.” Carlos looked at the cake and saw that a corner was taken out. “OK,” Carlos shouted. “Who got into Jane’s cake?”

Meanwhile, Celia and Jane were sitting outside eating pieces of Jane’s cake. “Delicious,” Dizzy said. “I especially love the lack of dirt,” Celia commented. “And the lack of flies,” Dizzy added. Celia nodded in agreement then said, “Well, there was that one fresh cake that got sent over last year. That was good.” Dizzy nodded in agreement as the two girls enjoyed the cake.

Mal walked out the front door holding her gift to Jane when Audrey magically appeared in front of Mal, startling her. “I was hoping you were home,” Audrey said. Mal looked over Audrey’s new look and saw her holding her mother’s scepter and asked, “Is this a joke? What are you doing with the crown and the scepter?” “Well,” Audrey answered. “I wanted them, so I took them. And you, of all people, should understand that, Mal. Since you took my place at Ben’s side. I was the one betrothed to him, remember?” Audrey twirled the scepter around as Mal shouted, “Wait, Audrey, stop! Don’t use that.” Audrey giggled and said, “I thought you like spells.” Mal stared at Audrey and said, “OK, Audrey, you’re better….” “Quiet!” Audrey shouted. “It’s not a toy,” Mal argued. “It’s dangerous.” “I want to be dangerous,” Audrey said. “My life was perfect until you stole it. And then Auradon turned its back on me. Well, it’s time for a little payback.” She shot a spell from the scepter at Mal, and turned her into an old hag. Audrey laughed evilly and said, “You think Ben will love you now, you old hag? You’ll pay the price for what you did and so will all of Auradon. And Ben will be mine like he should be.” Evie, Carlos, Jay, and Celia ran out the front door and saw Audrey standing there, who chuckled and said, “So long, suckers!” She then magically disappeared. 

Evie, Carlos, Jay, and Celia turned and saw Mal as an old hag and gasped. “Whoa!” Jay said. “You might wanna think of a spell for that.” “There’s no spell that can reverse the curse of the scepter.” “Well,” Carlos said. “That’s a shame.” “Forget about me,” Mal said. “Audrey’s out for revenge. And all of Auradon is in danger.” 

Before anyone could say anything else, they saw a glow come from Mal’s chest and suddenly there was a flash of light and Mal was turned back to normal. “OK,” Jay said. “How did that happen?” Mal looked down and saw that she was back to normal, but how? She saw the crystal Ben gave her glowing brightly and she pulled out the necklace containing it. “It was the crystal,” Mal muttered. “Ben said that it would protect me from magic. He was right.” “What is that?” Carlos asked. “A gift,” Mal said. “This protected me from the magic of the scepter. I guess it just took a little while for it to work.” “Who gave that to you?” Evie asked. 

Mal put the necklace under her shirt again and said, “I’ll tell you later. For now, we need to protect Auradon from Audrey’s magical revenge.” “What should we do?” Evie asked. Mal sighed and said, “Audrey is going to use the magic of the scepter on all of Auradon. We need something more powerful than the scepter.” “What about that crystal?” Celia asked. “I think this will only protect me,” Mal said. “We need something else. And the only thing more powerful than the scepter is Hades’ ember.” “Oh,” Jay said. “Like he’s just gonna hand it over, give them back to the Isle. “And no one knows where his lair is,” Evie said. “I do,” Celia said. “I’m his errand rat. I’ve got the keys at my dad’s.” “You’re coming,” Mal said. Celia huffed and said, “But I just got here.” 

Dizzy poked her head out along with the twins and asked, “What’s going on?” Evie ran over and said, “Dizzy, stay here to take care of the twins. We’ll be right back and everything will be just fine. Go inside. Guys, let’s go get our stuff.” Everyone ran inside to catch into Isle attire and get their motorized bikes so they could head to the Isle and get Hades’ ember.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. All that happened.
> 
> By the way, I love the song, "Queen of Mean", which I don't own by the way. Next time, Audrey's revenge begins. See you then.


	28. Do What You Gotta Do

Mal, Evie, Carlos, and Jay changed into their Isle clothes and hopped onto their motorized bikes that Ben got them, Celia rode with Mal. They rode out to the cliffside that was the closest to the Isle and stopped. Mal sent a text to Ben saying what happened with Audrey and that she was going over to the Isle to get the ember, but he wasn’t responding. “Probably he doesn’t want to look at his phone right now,” Mal thought. She chanted her spell, “Noble steed, proud and fair, you shall take us anywhere.” The spell worked at the four rode onto the ocean and drove straight for the Isle. Dude had run to try and catch up with them, but to no avail as he shouted, “Carlos, you’re gonna miss Jane’s birthday!” But none of them heard Dude as they were now too far away. 

Over at the Enchanted Lake, Jane was waiting under the gazebo for Carlos and his friends to show up. Chad was standing next to her squirting water at people with a water gun. “Oh,” Chad commented. “Looks like Carlos forgot about your birthday, huh?” Jane glared at Chad and said, “Well, maybe not, maybe he just took the wrong trail or something. Or you know what? They probably don’t celebrate birthdays on the Isle, maybe it’s like a cultural thing. Wait. That’s not true, as we celebrated Mal’s birthday a couple weeks ago.” Chad chuckled and said, “Or maybe he just forgot. You never know.” Jane was getting irritated with Chad and shouted, “Hey, Chad, look! There’s people taking selfies.” Chad handed her his water gun and ran saying, “Selfies! Guys, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Wait for me! Wait for me!” 

Audrey walked up the trail and arrived at the Enchanted Lake. People noticed and one girl commented, “Why is she here?” Audrey stopped someone and asked, “Did anybody save me any guacamole? No?” She walked around saying, “It’s like someone forgot to invite me. Well, don’t be expecting Mal, she’s not feeling herself. Does that make you sad? Does it just ruin everything? Mindless little drones. How could you forget what she did to us? How could you forget that I was supposed to be your Queen?”

Suddenly Chad came running up to Audrey shouting, “Time out, OK, OK. Time out. First off, great new look. I absolutely love feathers. But, hey, before you do whatever you’re gonna do, I was wondering if maybe you wanted a loyal boyfriend by your side? Partner in crime? Sidekick? Or maybe just a lackey to do your bidding, um, change tires. Or smoothie runs? Please?” Audrey stared at the boy who had been trying to get her to love him and internally rolled her eyes. “He could be useful,” the dark voice in her head said. “He might have something that you need.” Audrey relented and said to Chad, “You can be useful. Fine. Stand behind me.” Chad ran behind her as commanded.

Audrey smirked at the crowd and said, “Auradon likes to forget so much. They’ll love this.” She started to walk around and sing the happy birthday song,   
Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday to you

Happy birthday dear Jane

Happy birthday to you

Audrey slammed the scepter to the ground and a pink mist emerged, causing everyone around her and Chad to fall asleep. Jane noticed this and hid behind a pillar on the gazebo. She looked back at the lake and said, “The Enchanted Lake.” Jane quietly stepped into the lake, which Chad noticed and tried to get Audrey’s attention, but to no avail. Audrey just looked at the crowd and said, “Sweet dreams.” As the mist blew over the lake, Jane dove under the water and stayed there so that the mist couldn’t touch her. Audrey laughed evilly and magically teleported herself and Chad away from the lake. Jane rose to the surface and saw that Audrey and Chad left. She swam to shore and grabbed a towel to dry herself off and her phone.

Ben was leaving his office at Auradon Prep and had changed into a polo shirt and pants, holding Jane’s present. He heard his phone go off, and he looked in his pant leg, seeing that it wasn’t there. He looked over at a side table and saw his phone there and ran over to it and answered, “Hey, Jane. I’m on my way to the party. Sorry, I got caught up in my work.” He didn’t want to tell Jane the truth of him needing to calm down after the meeting that morning and that he was horrified at almost hurting Mal, but Jane didn’t need to know that. “No, no,” Jane replied in the phone. “Stay where you are, Ben. Audrey’s got the scepter and everyone’s asleep. I’m gonna call Mom and tell her to get her wand.” “Is Mal with you?” Ben asked but Jane had hung up at that point. He looked down at his phone and saw the text message Mal left him. He felt anger rise in him, but for Audrey this time and not Mal. “Audrey won’t get away with this,” Ben muttered as he turned around and summoned the door to his secret room and entered it, wanting to get to the bottom of what’s going on.

Over on the Isle, the Core 4 and Celia arrived outside of Dr. Facillier’s arcade. They parked the bikes and Celia led them to the door, where she had to knock a secret password to open it. The door opened and they went inside. Celia saw her dad and ran up to him, as her dad twirled her around saying, “Here she is.” They did their special dance and Dr. Facillier gave Celia a hug saying, “Hey, yeah. Come here little rascal. So, what kind of hustle you got going on with them shiny people.” “No hustle,” Celia answered. “I got friends on the other side.” “Ah!” Dr. Facillier said. “I hear you. I hear you.” Celia walked over and grabbed the key to Hades’ cave and said, “We’re on a mission. I’m kind of a major player so that’s why I can’t stay long.” “You make sure you get your cut,” Dr. Facillier told Celia. 

Carlos walked over to the TV and turned it on by putting in a coin. It showed the Auradon News Channel as a reporter said, “Alerts of the sleeping spell keep coming in as it spreads throughout Auradon.” “Uh, guys,” Carlos called out, Mal, Evie, Jay, and Celia walking over. “Come look at this.” The reporter continued, “There are rumors that Sleeping Beauty’s daughter, Audrey, is behind the spell. We’re trying to discover who is responsible for these vicious lies, and which villain has perpetrated this evil. We have an update. It’s what? It’s moving this way? It is moving this way.”

Mal, Evie, Carlos, Jay, and Celia ran outside and Carlos said, “Wow! Rookie mistake?” He pointed to their bikes as Harry, Gil, and two other pirates were on them and about to steal them. “Long time no see,” Harry mocked. “Catch me if you can.” The four drove away as Jay said to Carlos, “Over the roofs.” “Cut them off,” Carlos added. Evie, Carlos, and Jay ran off to get their bikes back. Celia wanted to join them, but Mal held her back and said, “Hey, hey, hey, hey, not you. They got this. You and me gotta go find the ember. So that we can return to Auradon and stop Audrey. And to get back to Ben.” “Good timing,” Celia said. “It’s right about his nap time.” 

Evie, Carlos, and Jay tried to cut the four bike thieves off, but they failed. Jay stood there in anger that they made a rookie mistake with their bikes. 

Celia led Mal to Hades’ cave and unlocked the door. Mal looked over and saw a “Beware Dog” sign and asked, “Hey. How big is that dog?” “You’ll see,” Celia said as she opened the door and the two girls walked in. Celia turned to Mal and whispered, “OK, stay quiet. It echoes, like, crazy in here.” Mal nodded as Celia led her further into the cave. Suddenly Mal heard a dog barking and got startled. Celia turned around and whispered, “Come on. Come, come.” Celia led Mal to a mine cart and both of them put on helmets with lights on them and pedaled down the tunnel. They reached the end and got off. Celia led Mal to the main chamber and Mal saw Hades sleeping on a couch in the center of the room. Celia pointed to the ember as it sat on a side table next to Hades. They quietly walked down the steps and Mal heard the dog barking again, but Celia pointed to a record player playing a record of dog barking. Celia pointed a side path for Mal to go down and Mal did just that. Right as she reached the side table, Celia was getting tired of the record and walked over and turned it off. Hades heard and said with his eyes closed, “What are you doing here?” He looked at Celia, not seeing Mal behind him, and Celia groaned at her mistake and lied, “I noticed you were low on canned corn.” She tossed the can to Hades just as Mal had her hand on the ember. Hades caught the can with one hand and caught Mal’s hand with the other. Celia groaned as Hades turned to look straight at Mal. 

Mal stared at Hades and said, “Hi, Dad.” Celia got a shocked look on her face as she didn’t know that Hades was Mal’s father. Hades smirked and said, “Quite a show you put on the other day.” “Right back at you,” Mal replied. Hades chuckled and said, “I was just coming to see you.” “Really?” Mal said as Hades stood up and walked around. “Wonder why. Is it because I’m gonna be Queen?” “Maybe,” Hades answered. “I haven’t see my little sunshine in so long. I had hoped that you would be the one to set me free of this prison. Like you were always meant to. So, don’t be bitter.” “And whose fault is that?” Mal asked. “You abandoned me when I was a baby.” Hades suddenly got sad and said, “Yes, I did. But because I left your mother. She wasn’t the easiest person to get along with.” “You think?” Mal retorted, sensing that Hades wasn’t telling the full truth. “Ah,” Hades turned and looked at Mal. “You see? We have something in common already. We both hate your mother.” “No,” Mal retorted. “I don’t hate my mother. She may be an evil lunatic, but at least she stuck around.” Hades sighed and said, “Wake up and smell the stink. You think you’ve had it rough? I used to be a god! I had an entire world which bore my name. And now I have nothing! And you have no idea what that feels like!” “Really?” Mal shouted. “Because for 17 years, I had nothing. And now, I have a whole world. But unless I get that ember, it’s game over.” Mal held out her hand, but Hades pushed her hand away and said, “Hold, please.” He snapped his fingers and a song started to play, which made Mal roll her eyes, and Hades started to sing, with Mal joining in every so often,

_(Hades)_

_Listen little girl_

_You’re talking to a god_

_And I don’t wanna hear the drama_

_Kindness ain’t my brand_

_(Mal)_

_Oh, I guess that’s why you ran_

_(Hades)_

_Try being married to your momma_

_(Mal)_

_You stink at being a dad_

_(Hades)_

_Poor dear, are you sad?_

_(Mal)_

_Not as sad as your without your powers_

_I didn’t come to fight_

_For once do something right_

_(Hades)_

_I steal souls_

_Were you expecting flowers?_

_(Mal)_

_I only need you ‘cause I came here for something_

_(Hades)_

_I’ve given you everything_

_(Hades and Mal)_

_By giving you/me nothing_

_(Hades)_

_I did what I had to do_

_(Mal)_

_No you only did what’s best for you_

_(Hades)_

_Well you can learn a thing or two_

_When push come to shove_

_You do what you gotta do_

_(Mal)_

_You were never there_

_I guess you don’t have a phone_

_You never called to say I miss you_

_(Hades)_

_Are you kidding?_

_Is this a joke?_

_You need to let it go_

_You’re stronger with those daddy issues_

_Show me some respect_

_It ain’t easy to neglect_

_My attention would’ve made you softer_

_(Mal)_

_Should I be proud?_

_Don’t turn this thing around_

_(Hades)_

_I guess you are your father’s daughter_

_(Mal)_

_Don’t think I need you_

_I just came here for something_

_(Hades)_

_I’ve given you everything_

_(Hades and Mal)_

_By giving you/me nothing_

_(Mal)_

_And I did what I had to do_

_I made it on my own no thanks to you_

_(Hades)_

_Well you can learn a thing or two_

_When push come to shove_

_You do what you gotta do_

_How about I go with you_

_And we’ll spend some time?_

_(Mal)_

_How about you stay here_

_‘Cause you’re out of your mind_

_(Hades)_

_Let’s make new memories_

_You can show me the town_

_(Mal)_

_No you can keep your memories now_

_(Hades and Mal)_

_I did what I had to do_

_No you only did what’s best for you_

_Well you can learn a thing or two_

_When push comes to shove_

_You do_

_When push comes to shove_

_You do_

_When push comes to shove_

_You do_

_What you gotta do ___

__Hades turned to Celia and said, “Rat. Go wait outside. I want to talk to my daughter. Alone.” Celia groaned, but turned around and walked out of the room. Hades turned to Mal and said, “Nice singing, my Rey.” Mal stared at Hades, he called her Rey. “That’s the name of the girl from my dreams,” Mal thought. Mal glared at Hades and said, “My name is Mal. Or are you such a deadbeat dad that you forgot your own daughter’s name?” Hades chuckled and said, “Oh. I know the name your mother gave you. But I know that isn’t your true name. No. I named you Rey. Gave it to you on the day you were born. Your mother didn’t care about it. But to me, you are my Rey. And that is what I will always call you.” Mal stared at Hades and asked, “Where did you hear of that name?” Hades looked at Mal curiously and said, “It came to me when you were born. A voice saying it in the wind. It shows who you truly are. But you don’t remember me calling you that? No. You heard it somewhere else. In your dreams, maybe?” Mal’s shocked look gave Hades his answer, “You started getting the dreams, didn’t you? And you don’t know why? Interesting.” “What are you talking about?” Mal asked. “You know why I am getting them?”_ _

__Hades nodded and said, “I do. But it’s not my place to tell. I sense you will find out that answer soon enough. Now, that boyfriend of yours. He’s very interesting. He displayed quite the power to knock me back through the barrier.” “You noticed that?” Mal asked. “Indeed,” Hades said. “I could sense his power. And his connection to you. Matter of fact, I saw the true him. He knows who he truly is. Has he told you about the power you two share? Or why you two are connected like you are?” Hades stared into Mal’s eyes and saw his answer, “He hasn’t. You only know part of it. Sure you two are each other’s true love, but it’s more than that. You don’t know the full truth about him. About yourself. Maybe that’s by choice. Or command. Probably because she told him not to tell.” “She,” Mal said. “She who?” Hades put his finger to his lips and said, “Spoilers. You can only find out when it’s time to regain what you have lost.” Mal looked shocked as that was what the mysterious woman in her dreams told her. “Is she the woman my dad is talking about?” Mal thought._ _

__Mal shook her head, realizing that she had a more pressing matter than Ben’s secrets and held out her hand saying, “Do you wanna make up for being a lousy dad? Give me the ember.” Hades was a little hurt and he said, “The main reason I was a lousy dad was to protect you from me. And this ember. Because the ember only works for me.” “No,” Mal said. “It’ll work for me. We’re blood.” Hades sighed and said, “You’re only half Hades. The ember won’t do everything for you that it does for me.” “I’ll take my chances,” Mal said. Hades leaned in and asked, “Are you truly willing to chance it? The ember draws on not only your magic, but your life force in order for it to work. Since I’m immortal, it won’t harm me. But you, I know that you won’t last long if you use it.”_ _

__“How do you so sure?” Mal asked. “Because when you were a baby,” Hades answered. “You grabbed it with your bare hand and held onto it for too long and you nearly died. Now you see why I left?” Mal saw the sadness in Hades’ eyes and sensed that he was telling the truth. Mal sighed and said, “I have no other choice. It’s the only thing more powerful than the scepter.” Hades sighed and said, “At least until you reawaken, that is.” Mal got a look of confusion as Hades stood tall and said, “Fine. I’ll give it to you. But you must keep skin contact with it at a minimum. Keep it in a pocket for the rest of the time you’re holding it. And if it gets wet, it’s game over.” He handed Mal the ember and she quickly put it in her pocket. She turned to walk away as Hades said, “One last thing. Maybe you should team up with that guardian you all call Solo. His powers can help you. Since he clearly regained what he lost.” Mal stopped for a second, realizing what her father said, then continued walking, giving him a wave as she walked away. Hades turned around and whispered, “That’s my girl.”_ _

__Mal and Celia were walking out of the cave as Celia commented, “I guess that’s the reason why he’s always asking about you. Well, he never mentioned you by name, just calling you Maleficent’s girl.” Mal stopped and said, “Evie is the only one who knows that he’s my dad. For the longest time, I made myself feel like he didn’t exist.” “And now?” Celia asked. Mal didn’t answer as she kept walking and Celia ran to catch up with her._ _

__Ben was in his secret room, after changing into a T-shirt, leather jacket, and leather pants like he was ready for battle, looking at the computers as C-3PO was talking about what was going on, “It seems that Ms. Audrey is casting a spelling spell on all of Auradon. This started at the Enchanted Lake and is slowly making its way here to Auradon Prep.” “To me,” Ben realized. “Audrey’s goal is to get to me. She’s angry at the betrothal contract breaking and at my engagement to Mal and not her. Did you get any info from the museum?” “Indeed, sir,” C-3PO said. “The cameras were shut off from the front desk around 10 P.M. last night, but the front camera got a glimpse of Audrey entering the front door and I suspect she waited until the security guard was asleep before approaching the front desk to shut off the cameras.” “So that’s how she stole the Queen’s crown and Maleficent’s scepter,” Ben said. “R2, pull up the details of the museum from around 10 P.M. last night. Even though the cameras were off, the floor sensors were still on.” R2 beeped and showed Ben what he wanted. Ben saw Audrey’s heat signature walk into the Queen’s crown display and stay there for a while before going to the exhibit where Maleficent’s scepter was displayed. “Maybe,” Ben suggested. “The Queen’s crown was her only target at first, but then the scepter caught her eye and she decided to take that too.” “Good possibility,” C-3PO said. “3PO,” Ben said. “Keep track of the spell’s movement. I have to get back to my office and start taking action on this.” “Good luck, Master Ben,” C-3PO said with R2-D2 beeped a few times._ _

__Ben walked toward the door when the Force spirits appeared in front of him as Anakin said, “You must be careful Ben. Something seems off about this situation.” “Agreed,” Obi-Wan said. “We have sensed a darkness coming from the princess. Something that she didn’t have before.” “Something has changed,” Yoda said. “Revenge has poisoned her heart. And something has influenced her thoughts.” “You are right to say that she’s coming after you,” Luke said. “You must be alert.” “Luke’s right,” Han said. “That girl is crazy when she doesn’t get what she wants.” “Just be careful,” Padme said. “I’ll be careful,” Ben said. “If Audrey wants me, then she’s going to be surprised to find out that I am more than what she thinks of me.” “Good luck,” Leia said. “And may the Force be with you,” all the spirits said before they disappeared back into Ben’s body. Ben sighed as he went through the door back to his office at Auradon Prep._ _

__He picked up his phone and called his security team, “I need the guards prepped and ready for Audrey. No. No, I want the Auradon guards handing out gas masks. Well, not everyone’s asleep.” He hung up the phone and called a guard into the office and told him, “Find out if anyone has seen Audrey. And find out if she has a list of demands.” The guard nodded and Ben sat down in his chair and closed his eyes to meditate to see if he could find out where Audrey was. Suddenly, he felt Audrey appear behind him and Audrey said, “Just one.” Ben opened his eyes and said, “Hello, Audrey.” Audrey seemed surprised that Ben wasn’t startled by her sudden entrance as Ben stood up and turned to face Audrey. He was a little shocked at Audrey’s new look, but kept a neutral face and said, “You’re here. What are your demands? What do you want?” Audrey smiled and said, “I demand my life back. I have a proposition. I’ll wake everybody up right now, under one itty-bitty condition, Benny-boo. Make me your Queen, and we’ll rule side by side.”_ _

__She put her hand on Ben’s cheek and Ben felt darkness coming from her. He could sense the power of the scepter, but there was something else. Something so small that he couldn’t figure out what. He stared right into Audrey’s eyes and said, “You’re not under a spell. I can tell. You’re enjoying this too much. You want this. Revenge on Mal. On me.” Audrey pulled her hand away and chuckled, “Most people get dumped because they aren’t good enough. I wasn’t bad enough. How do you like me now, Benny-boo?” “Honestly,” Ben answered. “I like the old you better. Back when you wouldn’t wanna hurt Auradon. When you cared more about dresses, makeup, and cheerleading. You’ve become something else, Audrey. You need to become who you were again. Just give me the scepter, and I’ll forgive you.”_ _

__Audrey glared and said, “You’ll forgive me? I don’t think so. I shouldn’t be the one trying to apologize for what I’ve done. No that should be you. You were the one to break our betrothal. You should be crawling back to me and begging me forgiveness for abandoning me and going after the daughter of my family’s greatest enemy. We are suppose to be together, not you and her. You’re the one under a spell, not me. I’m the one who is suppose to be your Queen, not her. And you and her and all of those Isle freaks aren’t going to stop me. I’m more powerful than any of you.”_ _

__Ben stared at Audrey, then started to chuckle. Audrey got angry and shouted, “What’s so funny?” Ben continued to chuckle and said, “You. You think you have it all figured out. You think Mal put me under a spell to make me fall in love with her and have me dump you and break the contract. Even though I know that your parents told you the true reason as to why we aren’t together anymore. But you are still under the belief that you are the perfect choice for my Queen and that we are meant to be together. Let me ask you this. Did you ever love me?” Audrey stood there at a loss for words, then said, “Of course I do. We are the perfect pair like all the couples that came before us. We are each other’s happily ever after. We are each other’s true love.”_ _

__Ben could sense that the darkness in Audrey was feeding on her delusions. “She’s never going to see the truth,” Ben thought. But then he got an idea. “There’s only one way for her to see the truth,” Ben thought. “She needs to see true love’s kiss for herself.” “Ben,” Luke said in his head. “What are you doing? You can’t be serious about doing this. It will put you in danger.” “I have to,” Ben mentally said. “She wasn’t at Cotillion to see the kiss between Mal and me when Mal broke Uma’s control over me. I can let her put a spelling spell on me and she will see for herself when she kisses me that I am not her true love. Then she will see Mal kissing me awake and that will help her see the truth.” “But,” Anakin said. “You’re immune to magic. Any spell coming from that scepter won’t work.” “Not unless I let myself be affected,” Ben mentally said. “Agathe told me that, remember? My body will be under the spell and I can go as Solo to find Mal and the others and get her to wherever Audrey is hiding me. I have to do this. For everyone’s sake.” “Mal’s not going to like this,” Leia said. “I know,” Ben mentally said. “But I have no choice. I know that she will forgive me. Like I forgive her.”_ _

__He looked at Audrey and said, “OK. You made a proposition. Here’s one from me. You believe that we are each other’s true love? Then let’s put it to the test. The same way that it was proven with your mom and dad. Put me in an enchanted spell like you’re doing to Auradon. Then you can kiss me, like you’ve always wanted to. If I awaken to your kiss, then you were right and you will be my Queen. If I don’t awaken, then I was right and Mal will be my Queen and you will be defeated. Do we have a deal?” Audrey thought about it, liking the idea, then said, “You have a deal.”_ _

__She raised the scepter, but Ben’s hand shot out and grabbed the scepter and held it in place, much to Audrey’s shock. “One last thing,” Ben said as he was letting his mental guards down so that the spell could work. “Once you do this, you will unleash something that will stop at nothing to protect Auradon and get Mal to me. Something that is more powerful than you.” Audrey glared at Ben while she slammed the scepter down to unleash the spell onto Ben and said, “I’ll take my chances.” Ben felt the magic hit him as his body started to shut down. But he heard a dark voice cackling in his head and Ben sensed it coming from Audrey. “It can’t be,” Ben whispered before he fell to the ground in an enchanted sleep._ _

__Audrey knelt down and out her hand on Ben’s cheek as she watched him sleep. “Fool,” Audrey whispered. “Now you’re mine.” She leaned down to kiss him, but stopped as a idea came to her head. “No. I shouldn’t do this now. I should do this in front of Mal when she is at her weakest. I’ll show her that Ben and I are meant to be together. The act will break her. I just need to get her to that point first. But first, I am realizing that sleeping is too good for Auradon. Time to step up my game.” The dark voice in her head said, “Yes. Bring out more of your darkness. But remember the King’s warning. He is not wrong.” Audrey huffed and said, “I don’t care. Nothing is more powerful than me. I am the Queen of Mean. And my reign will be endless!” She waved the scepter and send out a spell that turned Fairy Godmother into stone along with several others, including Adam and Belle. She smiled at her success and magically teleported herself and Ben’s unconscious body away. She did not notice that Ben’s spirit exited his body right when she teleported away and now there was an unconscious Solo lying there as the Force was working on waking his spirit up._ _

__Chewie was sitting on Ben’s bed back at the family castle when he sensed that Ben was in trouble. Quickly he jumped off and ran out of the room and out the front door, running towards Ben’s office at Auradon Prep._ _

__Back on the Isle, Mal, Evie, Carlos, Jay, and Celia had met up back at the entrance to the Isle as Jay pulled out the remote to the barrier. “All right,” Mal said. “Get in, get out. Jay, you’re good?” Jay nodded as Mal stopped them and said, “OK, hold on.” Jay pushed the button and the barrier opened wide enough for them to get out. Mal pulled out the ember and saw it glowing as she felt its power course through her. Evie noticed that Mal’s purple hair suddenly got blue highlights and said, “You’ve got a little Hades thing going on.” “What?” Mal asked. “Your hair has some blue in it now,” Celia commented. “That thing packs a punch, huh?” Carlos asked._ _

__Suddenly, Harry and Gil jumped through the barrier before it closed and shocked the Core 4 and Celia. Harry and Gil looked at each other as Gil said, “We made it, bro.” “We made it,” Harry cheered. Harry turned and looked at the shocked group and said, “Hey, guys. We’re just coming for a wee visit.” Carlos and Jay got in front of Mal and Evie as Harry and Gil started to push them. This caused Mal to let go of the ember and it tumbled into the sea. “No!” Mal shouted._ _

__But before it could hit the water, a tentacle rose out and grabbed it. Uma rose out of the water in her octopus form and asked, “Drop something?” Mal growled and shouted, “It can’t get wet. Give it back before it goes out.” Uma just laughed as Harry and Gil stared at Uma’s form and said, “Uma?” “That’s my name,” Uma said. She dove under the water and suddenly the water started to rise and swirl as it exploded. Everyone looked over the edge but couldn’t see Uma._ _

__“Hi, boys,” Uma called from behind them, standing there in her human form and holding the ember. Harry walked to her and said, “Welcome back.” Gil walked forward and said, “Uma, you swam off and forgot all about us.” “Yeah,” Mal said. “Planning her revenge, no doubt. Especially when her plan to steal the remote not too long ago failed.” Evie, Carlos, and Jay turned to here in confusion. Mal sighed and said, “I’ll tell you later.” Celia stood there trying to hide a smirk as she knew she was the one who closed the cracks. “It’s not all about you, Mal,” Uma said. “I was looking for a hole in the barrier to let everybody out. The one I found closed up, so I had to find another. And you know what I found, boys? It’s way better out there than we thought. There’s this thing that looks like a furry rock called a coconut. And fish so big you could dance on their backs. And they’ve been keeping it all for themselves.”_ _

__“Whatever,” Mal said. “Uma, I need that to break a spell.” “Cast by Audrey,” Carlos added. “Sleeping Beauty’s daughter.” “Mm,” Uma said. “So the good guy is the bad guy? Well, I might not give it back. Let’s see what happens.” “Uma!” Mal shouted. “It’s not the time for games! People’s lives are in danger! And you can’t have skin contact with the ember for too long. You’ll die!” “I don’t believe you,” Uma said. “I’m telling the truth!” Ma shouted. “Hades told me himself that the ember feeds off of the person’s magic and life-force of whoever holds onto it. That’s why I had it in my pocket. And I was going to put it back before your goons pushed me. Please. I need it back!”_ _

__Suddenly Mal felt a sharp pain in her chest that made her kneel to the ground. “Mal?” Evie asked kneeling to the ground. Uma just laughed and said, “She’s faking. Just to get attention. Like she always does.” Mal leaned forward on her knees, clutching her chest, and her Kyber crystal fell out of her jacket and hung around her neck. Harry and Gil looked at the crystal in awe and Uma got quiet, recognizing the power it gave off as it was similar to the amulet. “It’s Ben,” Mal said. “He’s in trouble. Audrey got to him. He’s under the spelling spell.” “That’s not possible,” Uma said. “He’s immune to magic. He told me himself when I was putting my spell on him.” Mal closed her eyes and sensed the answer, “He let himself get spelled. He lowered his guard and let Audrey spell him. Why? Why would he do that? Ben!” Mal sobbed into her hands and everyone around her was shocked at her actions, especially Uma, Harry, Gil, and Celia, as they have never seen Mal act like this. They’ve never seen her this vulnerable. Mal looked up at Uma with teary eyes and said, “Please. I need to get to Ben. And the only way I can get to him and defeat Audrey is with that ember. Please. I’m begging you.”_ _

__Uma sighed as she looked at the ember. She could feel the ember trying to draw off her power so Uma realized that Mal was telling the truth. But she didn’t want to give it to Mal this easily, so she said, “Guarantee me that every single villain kid who wants to, can get off the Isle.” Mal sighed and said, “I don’t know if I can do that.” Uma simply walked over and held the ember over the water and asked, “How about now?” Mal gasped, “Fine! Deal. Just give it to me so I can save Ben.” “Her word is good,” Evie said. Uma sighed as she put the ember in her jacket pocket and said, “I’ll still keep this, for the time being. Because if you think I trust you to save the world on your own, think again. This is a job for pirates.” Harry and Gil cheered behind her. “Besides,” Uma said. “I’ll bet that Solo will show up at some point to help. He’s always there when the king is in trouble. Especially if the king is, let’s say, out of commission.” Everyone around her got confused at that statement and Mal thought, “I know that she knows something about Solo that I don’t. It must have something to do about his connection with Ben.”_ _

__Jay helped Mal to her feet and whispered, “We can always go back to hating each other when this is over.” Mal sighed and said, “Fine.” Jay looked at Harry and Gil and asked, “Where are our bikes?” “Oh, yeah,” Gil said. “We crashed them.” Harry chuckled evilly as Evie stepped forward and said, “Here’s a thought. We could try to be friends. Put our history behind us and celebrate our differences. Yeah? Who wants gum?” She pulled a bag of gum out and showed everybody. Uma rolled her eyes and said, “Let’s go.” “No?” Evie asked. Uma started to walk but Mal said, “No. I’m in charge. Let’s go.” Mal walked forward, with everybody walking behind her. Evie stood there and put a piece of gum in her mouth thinking, “This might take a while….”_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are starting to get interesting. And before anyone asks, yes, Ben can let himself get affected by magic if he lowers his guard and allows it. I said it way back at the beginning. 
> 
> Also, I don't own any song that was used here. See you all next time.


	29. Operation Save Auradon

The Core 4, Sea 3, and Celia arrived back at Auradon Prep and saw people all around them asleep. “They’re asleep,” Evie said. Mal pulled out her phone and tried calling Ben’s parents, but no answer. Evie tried calling, but said, “I can’t get Dizzy or Doug.” “Or Jane,” Carlos said. “The signal’s out.” Celia looked over and saw the school and asked, “Is that Auradon Prep?” “Yeah,” Carlos answered. “When everybody wakes up, you’re going to love it.” Celia silently cheered. Gil looked around and said, “Everything is so….” “Freaky,” Jay interrupted Gil, but Gil said, “Green,” Gil finished. “You have leaves on your trees. And what are those colored things on the bushes?” “Uh, flowers,” Jay answered. “Flowers are pretty,” Gil said. Gil looked down at a table where two girls slept and shouted, “Cantaloupe!” Gil swallowed the entire bowl of it before Jay could stop him. Uma walked over and said, “We don’t have fresh fruit on the Isle, remember? Except for the once a month supply that Ben gives us. But Gil was never quick enough to get any.” Jay looked down and said, “Those are actually grapes.” “Grapes?” Gil said. “I love grapes.”

Harry walked around some people and started pulling wallets saying, “I believe I deserve some compensation for my muscles, my wile, and my role in this endeavor.” Jay saw this and walked over to Harry, pulling the wallet out of Harry’s hand, and said, “You do. Me not squashing you like a bug.” Harry just chuckled and said, “Think I’m scared of you, Jay?” “Guys!” Mal and Uma shouted. Mal walked up to Harry and Jay and said, “Besides, Jay’s the one you shouldn’t be afraid of. If Solo finds out that you’re stealing, he’ll crush you.” Harry gulped, remembering seeing Solo on the news channel during Cotillion and saw how powerful Solo looked. 

Carlos looked over and saw Dude licking someone’s fingers and Carlos ran over to his dog shouting, “Dude!” Dude looked over at Carlos and said, “Delicious.” He burped, which caused Carlos to say, “Dude, really?” “What?” Dude said. “It wasn’t me, I swear. OK. It was me.” “Hey,” Carlos asked. ‘Do you know what happened here?” “Yup,” Dude answered. “Audrey showed up. She put everyone to sleep. And then she turned some of them to….” “Guys,” Evie called out getting everyone’s attention. “Hannah turned to stone. Everyone looked at each other and Jay said, “All right. Everybody stay on their toes.” “Look,” Uma said. “Since we’re here, let’s check the school.” Mal was about to interrupt and say that she would have gone to the castle first to get to Ben, but remembered that Ben was at his office at Auradon Prep, so she said, “Fine.” Uma turned to Mal in surprise and said, “What? You agree with me for once?” Mal glared at Uma and said, “Maybe this once. Ben normally would have been at his office at the castle, but he came here this morning. We can go look around near his office here for clues. Audrey could be hiding him here still as he was her latest target. Then, we can go check Audrey’s dorm room.” “OK,” Uma said. “It’s my plan. Why are you taking control of it?” “Because I say so,” Mal retorted. “Guys!” Evie shouted. Mal sighed and said, “Let’s go inside. I know how to get to the wing where Ben’s office is located. We should search every room there.” Mal lead the way with everyone following behind her. 

Unknown to the group, Audrey was watching them through the scepter. She and Chad were hiding at Fairy Cottage with Ben’s unconscious body laying on a couch near the two. “How did Mal break my spell?” Audrey asked. “I don’t know,” Chad said. Audrey glared at Chad and asked, “And what is Uma doing here?” Audrey grabbed a glass bowl and threw it at Chad, who dodged it. “Come clean, Chad,” Audrey said. “Where did they go?” “I don’t know,” Chad answered. “I don’t know, OK? I can go check for you. How about that?” “Stay!” Audrey shouted. She walked over and gave a pet to Chad’s head, as the prince calmed down. “It’s about to get a little ugly,” Audrey said. Chad looked up at Audrey and asked, “What about Ben?” Audrey turned and looked at the sleeping king and said, “He’s already in my grasp. I have one of my goals achieved. Now, I need to get the other one done.”

Solo slowly woke up in his Auradon Prep office. He looked around and said, “Audrey’s long gone from here.” He closed his eyes to try and sense where she was, but couldn’t. “Should have known,” Solo muttered. “Audrey’s being affected by the same Sith presence that was in the amulet. Whoever that is must be clouding her so I can’t track her. And since my body is with her, that means I can’t track where that is either. I should have thought this through more. At least the Force spirits will help monitor my body while I’m here. Now, I need to find Mal. I need to get her to wherever Audrey is so she can wake me up.” He sensed that she was somewhere in Auradon Prep and phased out of the walls of the office to go find her.

Mal walked through one of the hallways leading to Ben’s office shouting, “Ben!” Dude was taking lead and said, “This way.” Mal sighed and said, “I hope he is still here somewhere.” Dude turned to the group and said, “I got a scent. Very pungent cologne. Easy to track. Follow me, people.” “That’s great, Dude.” “FYI,” Dude said. “I give great cuddles, too.” “Really?” Gil asked. “I never had a pet growing up. Well, except for the elk head in Dad’s man cave but that wasn’t really a pet.” “And follow me,” Dude said, turning around and walking toward the scent. The group followed him.

Dude led them to the armory which made Mal think, “Why would Ben’s scent led us here?” Evie turned to Celia and whispered, “Stay here, OK?” Celia rolled her eyes, but obliged. Harry stared at one of the suits of armor and felt Jay behind him, so he said, “I can feel you looking.” “Good,” Jay whispered. Gil knelt down to Dude and scratched his chin saying, “So you can track, cuddle, and talk. Hey, Carlos, do you think his puppies would be able to talk, too?” Carlos sighed and said, “All right, man. He’s taken. You want a dog, adopt a rescue.” Dude laughed and said, “Talking puppies. That’s crazy.” Celia called Dude over to her so she could pet him.

Mal, Evie, and Uma reached the end of the room and Uma said, “I bet you lost some sleep thinking about me on the loose?” “No,” Mal said. “I was thinking about other things. I wonder what fried octopus tastes like.” “OK,” Evie said. “Why don’t we not do this?” “We’re celebrating our differences,” Uma told Evie. 

Audrey saw the group in the armory and laughed evilly. “They fell right into my trap,” Audrey said. “I knew that dog would track Ben’s scent. So I planted a false one. Now I can take them out and leave Mal all to myself to play with.” 

Audrey enchanted the knight armor in front of everyone, which Harry noticed, “I believe we’re being challenged.” “Let’s split up and look for Audrey,” Uma suggested, not hearing Harry. “That makes absolutely no sense,” Mal argued. “Unless you give me my ember, she’s going to spell you.” The armor moved again which made Harry shout, “Girls! We have a situation here.” Everyone look up and saw the armor move as Audrey enchanted it and heard her say, “Do you like a prince, Mal? How about a knight in shining armor? Or knights?” Mal glared at the armor and shouted, “What did you do to Ben? Where is he?” Everyone heard Audrey laugh and say, “Don’t worry. I have not harmed him in any way. He’s just sleeping at the moment. But don’t worry about him. You have bigger problems at the moment.” Audrey laughed evilly and enchanted all of the suits of armor to move and attack them. Everyone ran and got swords that were around the room and got into attack position. They fought off the suits of armor as they sang a song, 

_(Everyone)_

_Watch your back_

_Watch your back_

_Watch your back_

_Watch your back_

_We can counter their attack_

_Hit them till the armor cracks_

_(Uma)_

_This could get a little sticky_

_How to win this battle could be tricky_

_But I know the best way_

_Fall back let me lead_

_You hold the line_

_And we’ll bring them to their knees_

_(Mal)_

_Swords in the air if you’re with me_

_They got us outnumbered one-to-fifty_

_The victory is ours_

_Because I’ve got a strategy_

_You take the left_

_And the rest of you can follow me_

_This is my crew_

_(Uma)_

_Look this is my squad_

_(Mal)_

_This is my turf_

_(Evie)_

_Oh my gosh_

_Looks guys we got bigger fish to fry_

_Put your differences aside_

_‘Cause now we’re on the same side_

_Till the night falls_

_Everyone_

_(Mal, Evie, and Uma)_

_We’ll stay together till the battle is done_

_(Everyone)_

_Watch your back_

_Watch your back_

_Watch your back_

_Watch your back_

_We can counter their attack_

_Hit them till the armor cracks_

_(Mal, Evie, and Uma)_

_Until the night falls_

_We’re aligned_

_It doesn’t mean that we’re on the same side_

_(Everyone)_

_Watch your back_

_Watch your back_

_Watch your back_

_Watch your back_

_Hit them hard and hit them fast_

_They’re too heavy to react_

_(Mal)_

_The situation is getting kind of heavy_

_Hold your weapon tight keep them steady_

_‘Cause if we stick together_

_We can make it out alive_

_I will cause a distraction_

_You attack them from the side_

_(Uma)_

_All my soldiers stand at the ready_

_We can cut them up like confetti_

_We’ll hit them from the front_

_You counter from behind_

_(Mal)_

_Don’t forget the fate of Auradon’s on the line_

_(Carlos, Jay, Harry, and Gil)_

_This is all-out war_

_They got us outnumbered_

_The way the swords clash_

_Is the sound of the thunder_

_(Mal)_

_And we are not going under_

_We will never run for cover_

_(Everyone)_

_We battle for the victory_

_And ride for each other_

_(Evie)_

_Till the night falls_

_Everyone_

_(Mal, Evie, and Uma)_

_We’ll stay together till the battle is done_

_(Everyone)_

_Back to back_

_Back to back_

_Back to back_

_Back to back_

_We can counter their attack_

_Hit them till the armor cracks_

_(Mal, Evie, and Uma)_

_Until the night falls_

_We’re aligned_

_It doesn’t mean that we’re on the same side_

_(Everyone)_

_Back to back_

_Back to back_

_Back to back_

_Back to back_

_Hit them hard and hit them fast_

_They’re too heavy to react ___

__The knights were surrounding the group, getting closer and closer. Up above on the roof, Solo looked down through the ceiling window and saw Mal and everybody else getting cornered. So he jumped right through the window and he landed in between the VKs and the knights. “Solo!” Carlos and Jay shouted. Solo chuckled and said, “Sorry I’m late.”_ _

__Audrey saw this through her scepter and shouted, “No!” “I told you,” the dark voice in her head said. “The king was right in his warning.” Audrey growled and said, “It doesn’t matter. My knights will finish him!”_ _

__Solo stared down the knights and said, “So many of them and one of me? Not a problem.” Harry and Gil stared at Solo with fright as they knew that Solo was not someone to mess with. Solo pulled out his lightsaber and ignited it, getting into a fighting stance. One knight charged him as Solo used the Force to push the Core 4 and Sea 3 towards the entrance. He lifted his saber to stop the sword and the lightsaber sliced clean through it. He then sliced the knight in half as the pieces fell to the ground. Solo smirked at the other knights and said, “Who is next?” All the knights charged in and Solo used his Force agility to jump, dodge, and attack with such grace that had the VKs stare at him in awe. Solo used the Force to push some knights away while cutting off helmets on others. Solo cut down every knight except one, of which Solo froze the knight in place and slowly walked over to it, stepping over all the pieces of the other knights, as the VKs stood near the entrance in shock at what they just saw._ _

__Solo glared at the knight and said, “Audrey. I know you can see and hear me right now. Know this. You should have taken the king’s warning more seriously. You will be stopped. And I will be there to take you down. Now, tell me where the king is.” He heard Audrey laugh and say, “I may have underestimated you, but I will not make that mistake again. You and Mal are going to have to find me the old fashioned way. I will have my revenge. Mark my words.” Solo got angry and sliced the knights into multiple pieces using various slashes._ _

__Satisfied with his work, he turned to the VKs and asked, “Is everyone alright?” Everyone nodded meekly as Uma stepped forward and asked, “What took you so long? You had to wait until the precious king was taken?” Solo knew that Uma was trying to bait him in front of Mal, who stood there thinking the exact same thing, but Solo walked forward to Uma and said, “I had other problems that I had to worry about. By the time I sensed that the king was in danger, I was too late. Audrey is being influenced by something dark. The same darkness that was in the amulet you found. Do you remember?” Uma’s eyes widened when she realized who he was talking about. Solo sensed that and said, “Now you know that this isn’t just some pretty princess getting her revenge. The same thing that tried to use your darkness to wreck havoc is doing the same to Audrey, but on a bigger scale. We need to get that scepter off of her; that’s what the dark presence is using to get to her. And we need to rescue the King.” “You don’t know where he is?” Mal asked. Solo shook his head and said, “The dark presence that’s influencing Audrey is clouding her, and since Ben is with her, then I can’t track him. Audrey was right about that. We need to find her the old fashioned way. By the way, good job all of you on defending yourselves against those knights. That was true teamwork.”_ _

__The VKs agreed and started to congratulate each other, but it got awkward and the group split into their respective gangs. Evie stood in the middle sighing as Solo watch everything unfold with confusion on his face. Evie looked at everyone and said, “Guys, come on. This was so great. Solo is right. We were a team. We worked together. Come on. You know what we should try? An icebreaker.”_ _

__Everyone around her groaned as Solo chuckled to himself at what he was seeing. Evie smiled and said, “You say something you really like about about the other person. Or you tell a truth about yourself. I’ll start. Harry. Great accent. Now, you go.” “Is she always this perky?” Uma asked Mal. “Oh,” Evie said. “It wasn’t really your turn, but thank you.” “OK,” Mal said dragging Evie to her. “Evie, come here. I love you.” “Aww,” Evie said. “You told a truth.” Mal sighed and said, “I love this energy, but we are very short on time. Audrey clearly knows that we’re here and we need to get out of here, ASAP.”_ _

__“One moment, though,” Uma said. She turned to Solo and said, “There is one question I want Solo to answer. What is the power source you have? Since we are all telling truths right now.” Solo sighed, silently glad that Uma wasn’t forcing him to reveal anything bigger at the moment. Mal looked at Solo and said, “Despite the time crunch, I agree with Uma. You never told me what it was.”_ _

__Solo looked up and said, “It’s called the Force. It’s older than the magic of this world and exists far beyond this planet. It’s around us, binds us, and guides us. For example.” He summoned a helmet to him with the Force and said, “I didn’t tell the helmet to come to me, I told the Force surrounding the helmet to make the helmet come to me. The Force is a power this world has never known and one that existed long ago in a galaxy far far away.” Harry started to laugh at Solo’s explanation and said, “Really? The Force? Older than magic? Far away galaxies? Please. You’re just doing some hocus pocus. And you talk about it like it’s some all powerful being that rules everything like….”_ _

__But suddenly Harry started to choke and he was struggling to breathe. Everyone else turned to Solo and saw his hand raised towards Harry as he was using the Force to choke Harry. “I find your lack of faith disturbing,” Solo said, glaring at Harry. Mal walked over to Solo and said, “Enough! Release him. He’s not worth it.” Solo looked at Mal and said, “As you wish.” He let go and Harry collapsed to the floor regaining his breathing. Harry looked up at Solo in fear as Gil helped Harry to stand._ _

__Suddenly Chewie came bounding through the entrance, barking at everyone. He ran straight to Solo and sat in front of him. Solo smiled and said, “Hello, Chewie.” “Wait,” Mal said. “You were the one to send Chewie to Ben all those years ago?” Solo looked up at Mal and lied, “Perhaps.” He looked down at Chewie and said, “Alright, old friend. The situation is not good. Audrey has stolen Maleficent’s scepter and is creating chaos in Auradon. Today is your lucky day as I need your help in fighting whatever Audrey will throw at us.” Carlos chuckled and said, “Ah, Solo. Chewie is a dog. How can he fight?” “I’ll show you,” Solo said before he looked down at Chewie and said, “Dog to Wookiee.” A mist surrounded Chewie and he transformed into his Wookiee form. Chewbacca roared with glee, startling everyone around him, including Dude. Chewbacca looked at Solo and said, “Thank you,” in his language. “You’re welcome, Chewie,” Solo said. “Oh, here’s your crossbow.” Solo made the crossbow appear out of thin air and handed it to Chewie. Chewbacca looked around and stared at the Sea 3 and said, “I don’t trust them.” in Shyriiwook. “Agreed,” Solo said. Gil raised his hand and asked, “Uh, what did he say? I can’t understand him.” Solo chuckled and said, “That’s because he only speaks in Shyriiwook. That’s the native language of his planet.” “That’s why I could never understand him when he was a dog,” Dude realized. “Precisely,” Solo said. “And he said that he doesn’t trust you three, given your actions in the past. He will be keeping an eye on you guys to make sure you three don’t try anything.” Harry and Gil gulped as Uma rolled her eyes._ _

__“All right,” Uma said. “Where does this cheerleader bunk down? Even if she’s not there, we might find some sort of clue.” “Actually,” Evie said. ‘She’s still in the dorms.” “You’re right,” Mal said. “Because of summer school.” Harry laughed and said, “What? Summer school? Summer school! No wonder she wants revenge.” Chewbacca roared at Harry, and the pirate backed away. “We need to split up,” Solo said. “Myself and Chewie will take the boys and go find Jane. She was the last person to contact Ben so she might still be wandering around out there. She could help us.” “How do you know that?” Mal asked. Solo quickly thought of a lie, “I found Ben’s phone in his office. Jane was the last person to call him.” Mal didn’t but it, but didn’t say anything about it. She instead said, “OK. I agree with Solo. You guys go with him and Chewie and go find Jane and anyone else that might be out there unspelled. I will take the girls to Audrey’s room here at Auradon Prep. We will meet back at Evie’s in two hours, OK?” “Sounds like we’re going with my plan. I’m just saying.” “Maybe,” Mal said. “But Solo suggested it now. Besides, it was kind of the obvious plan.” “Uma said it first,” Gil said. “Right,” Uma said. ‘So my plan.” “Enough!” Solo shouted, startling everyone. “Now is not the time for arguing. Let’s go.” Solo and Chewie got out the entrance first and had the boys follow them, Carlos picking up Dude. Mal led the girls in the direction of Audrey’s dorm room._ _

__Uma and Celia were chilling in Audrey’s room when Mal and Evie came in after searching the whole school. Evie turned to Uma and said, “She’s nowhere on campus.” Uma held up a book and said, “Found her diary. And dang, did you ruin Audrey’s life, Mal. And she is a little too obsessed with your boyfriend.” “OK,” Mal said. “So did you find anything in there that we don’t already know or what?” Uma stared at Mal and said, “She hangs out at Fairy Cottage. You know, where Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather hid her mom from your mom.” “Yes,” Mal said. “The irony is not lost on me.” Uma put the diary down and laid on Audrey’s bed asking, “How could anyone with this bed ever be unhappy?”_ _

__Celia was sitting at Audrey’s vanity mirror wearing one of Audrey’s crown and some of her jewelry and asked, “OK, how do I look?” Evie turned to Celia and said, “OK. The bling stays here.” “But she’s bad,” Celia argued. “And we’re not,” Evie countered. Celia sighed as she took off the jewelry._ _

__Uma pointed to a spot across the room and said, “I wasn’t kidding when I said that pretty princess is obsessed with your king a little too much. She has some sort of shrine over there. It’s a little creepy.” Mal walked over to where Uma was pointing and saw a series of pictures of Ben with Audrey. Uma was right that is was a little creepy for Audrey to have pictures of Ben when he wasn’t her betrothed anymore. Mal picked one up and looked at it. Audrey was clearly happy, but Mal could tell that Ben was putting on a fake smile. She could see the sadness in his eyes. She turned back to the other girls and said, “Audrey is wishing for something that isn’t there. Ben never loved her. He hated the fact that they were betrothed. I can see the sadness in his eyes in all of these pictures. Audrey just can’t let go of the fact that Ben was never hers.” She put the picture down and said, “Come on. Let’s get to Evie’s place.”_ _

__In the forest, Solo, Chewie, Carlos, Jay, Harry, and Gil were looking for Jane and any other people that weren’t spelled. So far, nothing. “Jane?” Carlos called out. He called Dude back to him as he sat down on a log and said, “Come on, Dude. Nothing?” Dude shook his head as Solo walked over to Carlos and said, “I don’t sense anything in this area. If you all want to take a break, now’s the time.”_ _

__Gil walked over to a berry bush and said, “These things just grow everywhere. Hey, we should play that icebreaker. Um, Jay, I like the way that you can bounce around and jump off things. These are free, right?” Jay walked over to Gil and picked some berries while saying, “Yeah. Um, I like how you get a kick out of a berry bush.” Gil sighed and said, “I guess you’ve probably seen everything by now, huh? Furry rocks. Giant fish. You’re probably used to grabbing lunch off of a bush.” “No,” Jay replied. “I mean, no, not really. I mainly just use the vending machines at practice. You know, tourney, kind of eats up most of my time. So…” Harry laughed at Jay’s statement and said, “Tourney, that’s a wee boy’s game.” Gil interrupted by saying, “Hey, you know what would be fun? To go rafting on a jungle river.” “Find a lost civilization,” Jay suggested. “Oh,” Gil said. “Or maybe a penguin.” “Oh,” Jay said. “Well, you’d find those more in like icebergs, but I’d love to see one of those.” Harry groaned as he walked over and said, “You guys are killing me.” He reached down with his fake hook and grabbed a berry and ate it._ _

__Solo and Chewie watched the interaction and Solo whispered to Chewbacca, “They’re getting along already. That’s good to see.” Chewbacca gave some soft roars and Solo chuckled saying, “Yeah. It is glad that they aren’t fighting at the moment.” Solo looked down and saw Dude was sitting at his feet. Solo kneeled down and asked, “Can I help you with something, Dude?” “You smell familiar,” Dude answered. “You smell a lot like….” But Solo used the Force to hold Dude’s mouth shut and whispered, “You will not finish that sentence. And you will not say anything about my identity to the others.” Dude meekly nodded his head and Solo let him go. Carlos noticed the interaction with Solo and Dude and wondered what Dude was about to say. “Is Solo hiding something about himself that he doesn’t want us to know?” Carlos thought. Solo got up and said to the boys, “Break’s over. Let’s go.” The boys all followed Solo and Chewbacca deeper into the forest._ _

__Mal, Evie, Uma, and Celia were walking back to Evie’s house. Uma stopped in front of it and said, “Nice digs.” Evie smiled and said, “I got a really nice deal.” They went inside and found Dizzy, Squeaky, and Squirmy asleep on the couch. Celia went over and put a blanket on them. She looked down at Dizzy and said, “Don’t worry, Dizzy. We can fix this. And once we do, they're gonna let all the kids come from the Isle. So, happy dreams.” Mal looked down, feeling a little guilty as she knew that she suggested the closure of the barrier._ _

__Mal, Evie, and Uma heard snoring coming from Evie’s work room and walked into it, finding Doug on the floor asleep. “Uh,” Uma asked. “Who’s the dude?” “Doug,” Evie said walking over to Doug’s sleeping form. She tried to wake him up, but to no success. “He’s spelled,” Uma said. “Is she not a fast learner?” “She’s emotionally involved, OK?” Mal retorted. “Well,” Uma replied. “In that case, she should be able to wake him up. True love’s kiss. Works every time.” Evie looked up and revealed, “Well, we haven’t used the L word yet. Can we be alone?” Mal turned to walk away, but Uma stepped forward and said, “OK. But before we leave and you decide to go into a song about your feelings, know this. If you love him, and you have a strong feeling that he loves you, then just kiss him. Don’t make a big deal about it. You don’t need to sing out your feelings. Trust me.” Evie nodded as Mal and Uma left the room. Evie gulped and looked down at Doug. “I love him,” Evie whispered as she leaned down and gave him a kiss on the lips. When she pulled away, Doug’s eyes were still closed and he let out a sleepy sigh. Evie stood up and looked away from him, thinking it didn’t work. But Doug opened his eyes and stood up, looking at Evie. Evie turned around and saw Doug standing there, and playfully punched him in the chest, upset that he tricked her a little bit. Doug then pulled Evie into a hug and Evie melted into his arms._ _

__“Jane!” Carlos called out as he, Solo, Chewbacca, Jay, Harry, and Gil walked through the woods. They were still unsuccessful at finding anybody._ _

__At Fairy Cottage, Audrey was watching the group through the scepter and said, “Time to take them out.” She summoned some magic to the forest to create some monsters to get rid of the boys._ _

__Solo stopped the group as he sensed something was off. Chewbacca sniffed the air and held up his crossbow ready for attack. “What’s going on?” Jay asked. “Something feels off,” Solo said. Dude turned to the group and said, “Boy, something stinks. And it wasn’t me this time.” Suddenly creatures rose from the ground that were covered in black feathers, dirt, and leaves, ready to attack the group. “Ah!” Dude screamed running behind Carlos. Solo pulled out his lightsaber and ignited it and Chewbacca aimed his crossbow at one of the creatures. “What are those things?” Gil asked. “No idea,” Solo said. “But I suspect that they came from Audrey. We need to get rid of them. Now!” Solo charged in and swung his lightsaber, slicing one monster and it turned to ash. Chewbacca fired an arrow to another monster, destroying it. Carlos pulled Gil out of the way of one monster and kicked it to the ground. Harry dodged one monster’s attack and Jay saw another monster charging at Harry and Jay pulled Harry out of the way. Solo ran over and destroyed two monsters that were near the boys. More monsters were rising up from the ground as Jay said, “What do we do? We’re surrounded.” Solo and Chewbacca got in front of the boys to protect them._ _

__Suddenly water shot out from their left and the monsters turned to ash one by one. They all looked over and saw that Jane was the one doing it._ _

__Audrey saw this from Fairy Cottage and screamed with rage as Jane’s intervention stopping her victory._ _

__Carlos smiled as he ran over to Jane and the two started talking fast to each other both ending with, “I’m so glad you’re all right.” They hugged each other, glad to be in each other’s company again. Solo and Chewbacca walked over to the pair, and Jane saw Solo and Chewbacca and screamed, pulling out the water gun she brought from the Lake and blasted Chewbacca, but Solo stopped it with the Force and said, “Jane. It’s OK. He’s a friend. It’s just Chewie.” Jane looked at Chewbacca and asked, “This is Chewie? But Chewie’s a dog.” “Not really,” Solo said as he released his hold on the water and let it fall to the ground. “He was just disguised as a dog. This is his true form. He was watching over Ben.” Jane nodded meekly and said, “Wow. You’re here. In the flesh again. Um, hi. Solo is it?” Solo nodded and said, “Nice to meet you officially, Jane.”_ _

__Harry walked over to Jane and said, “Well, well, well. Harry Hook. And you, my little duckling are ravishing.” Carlos chuckled and put his arms around Jane and said, “Ravishing and taken. Just in case anyone was confused.” Jane looked at Harry and Gil and asked, “Are they on our side.” Jay stepped forward and said, “They escaped and joined us. And Mal has Hades’ ember which is our only hope to stop Audrey. And Solo as well. Details to follow.” “Wait,” Jane said. “That’s where you all went? Back to the Isle?” “Details to follow,” Jay said. “We’re meeting up with Mal, Evie, and Uma. Let’s go.” “Uma?” Jane asked. Solo reached over and put his hand on Jane’s shoulder and said, “It’s OK. Details to follow. We will all explain on the way back to Evie’s place. Just follow us.”_ _

__Solo led the way with everyone following him and Chewbacca. Harry pulled Jay aside and said, “Hey, Jay. Yeah, thanks for saving me, gorgeous face.” Jay nodded and the two boys walked to catch up with the others._ _

__Back at Evie’s place, Uma and Celia were eating pieces of Jane’s cake and Mal walked up to Uma. Mal knew that she and Uma had bad blood between them and wanted to try and make a better relationship with her. “That was a really good idea, to check Audrey’s room,” Mal told Uma. “Now, we now that we’re on the right track.” Uma turned to Mal and asked, “Is there an insult in there that I missed?” “Just,” Mal answered. “I wanted to thank you.”_ _

__Audrey saw this conversation from the scepter and shouted, “No! You think you’re on the right track? We’re not going anywhere! Leet’s mess them up a little.” Chad walked over and said, “I say we go back to my place and maybe binge-watch some TV? Huh? Or maybe order some stuff online? Yeah? Yeah.” Audrey used the magic of the scepter to make Chad kneel on the floor as the prince stuttered, “What about pizza, huh? Yeah, you don’t like pizza. Salad?” “I have one last thing I need from you,” Audrey said as she blasted him to a closet and locked the door. Chad shouted, “No, no, no, no, no. Audrey. Audrey.” Audrey laughed evilly and said, “You’ll be the perfect bait, Chad. Enjoy.” She walked over to Ben’s sleeping form and stroked his cheek with her hand and said, “Now you and I can go somewhere else. Just the two of us. And soon, you’ll be mine forever.”_ _

__Back at Evie’s place, Uma commented, “I don’t know whose birthday it is, but I want this cake.” Mal chuckled and said, “So, I made kind of missed the boat a little bit on calling you Shrimpy and not letting you join the gang. And I’m sorry for dumping those shrimp on your head all those years ago. I felt immediately guilty after doing it, but I had to act tough in order to survive the Isle. You deserved better than that.” Uma sighed and said, “Yeah. I’m sorry too about sending you those nightmares and everything at Cotillion. Maybe we could’ve torn up the Isle together.” Mal sighed and said, “You’re the better leader for the Isle than I ever was. I was hiding who I truly was. You were always you.”_ _

__Uma got puzzled at that statement, but before she could answer, the two girls heard a loud noise and saw a wood board cover the window. More and more boards covered the windows and doors. Celia ran into the room and shouted, “We’re trapped!” Evie ran into the room and asked, “Are you guys OK? What’s going on?” Mal’s eyes glowed and chanted, “You’ve caused my friends pain and fear. We’ve had enough, now disappear!” But the spell didn’t work. “You guys,” Mal said. “I’m sorry. My spells aren’t working. Audrey’s magic is getting stronger.” Uma’s necklace started to glow and Uma took Mal’s hand and both girls chanted, “You’ve caused our friends pair and far. We’ve had enough, now disappear!” Suddenly the boards fell from the windows and doors and the girls cheered._ _

__But then, the boards came back up and they heard Audrey’s evil laugh. “She won’t let us go,” Celia said._ _

__Solo, Chewie, Carlos, Jay, Harry, Gil, Jane, and Dude were running back to Evie’s house and saw what was happening. “It’s Audrey,” Carlos said. “She’s trapping the girls in the house.” “We have to get in there and rescue them,” Harry said. “Wait,” Solo said. “Allow me.” Solo raised his hand toward the house and called onto the Force to free the girls. One by one, the boards lifted from the house into the sky, shocking the boys behind Solo. Once all the boards were freed from the house, Solo used the Force to throw them far away._ _

__Audrey saw this from the scepter and shouted, “No!” “He is becoming triesome,” the dark voice said. Audrey growled and said, “Fine. I’ll just make my trap here for them. I’ll leave enough of my signature behind for them to track and then I’ll target Mal’s friends.” She then disappeared with Ben’s body._ _

__The girls inside the house looked at each other, happy that they were freed. “Solo must have helped us,” Mal realized. “But,” Evie said. “You two worked together. This is what I have been talking about.” Uma reached into her pocket and pulled out Hades’ ember and handed it to Mal saying, “What don’t you hold onto that?” Mal smiled and nodded her thanks. The girls then walked to the door to go outside and see Solo’s group._ _

__Solo, Chewie, Carlos, Jay, Harry, Jane, and Dude walked to the house as the girls ran outside. Carlos and Jay ran up to Mal and Evie and hugged them while Harry and Gil ran up to Uma, glad to see that their captain was alright. Solo and Chewie stayed back and let the VKs have their moment. Once it was settled, Solo walked up to Mal and asked, “Are you alright?” Mal nodded her head, but noticed the look in Solo’s eyes, he seemed really concerned about her wellbeing. “He had the same look in his eyes like Ben when he is concerned for me,” Mal thought._ _

__But she shook off that thought for now and said, “OK, so, we all think that Audrey could be at Fairy Cottage. We have no idea where it is.” “I know where it is,” Solo said. “Audrey took the king there every Fairy Godmother’s Day while they were betrothed. Speaking of which, Jane, do you have any idea where your mother is?” Jane sat down at a table and said, “I wish I knew.”_ _

__Carlos walked over to Jane with a present and said, “Hey, this might be a bad time. But Happy Birthday.” He handed Jane the present, who opened it and saw a necklace that said Jarlos. “I made it with my 3D printer,” Carlos said. “It’s our names put together.” Jane pulled out the necklace and said, “No, I get it, yeah.” “Yeah,” Carlos said. “Because you know, we’re together. You and me. We’re like a couple.” “Right,” Jane agreed. “Because Jane and Carlos make Jarlos.” “Yes,” Carlos said. “yeah. I could’ve gone with Cane, um, but I went with Jarlos. Unless you prefer Cane. You prefer Cane? Yes, you do. It’s fine. You know what? I can remake it. It’s cool.” He grabbed the necklace from Jane’s hand and started to walk away, but Jane stopped him and said, “No, Carlos. It’s prefect. Can you put it on me?” Carlos nodded and he reached around Jane and put the necklace on her._ _

__Doug walked out of the house and saw the group there, but backed away when he saw Solo and Chewie standing there. “It’s Solo,” Doug whispered to Evie. “And who is that standing next to him.” Evie chuckled and said, “It’s Chewie. Ben’s dog. This is is true form. Solo sent him to Ben all those years ago.” Solo chuckled nervously and Mal noticed, sensing that Solo was lying about that. Solo stepped forward and said, “Doug. I need you to go with Jane to find Fairy Godmother.” Uma stepped forward and said, “They might need some muscle. Send Chewie.” “Chewie stays with me,” Solo said. “Besides, none of you guys speak Shyriiwook.” Gil stepped forward and said, “Well, I’ll go.” “Yeah,” Carlos said. “Actually, I would feel better.” “Yeah,” Evie agreed. “Actually, I’d feel better, too.” Doug sighed and said, “Actually, I would, too.” Gil put his arm around Doug and said, “All right, man. Let’s do it.” “Let’s go, Jane,” Doug said. “Be careful,” Carlos said. “I will,” Jane said as she, Doug, and Gil left._ _

__“OK,” Evie said. “Let’s go back into the house and discuss the plan.” Evie went inside and and Carlos, Jay, Celia, Dude, Uma, and Harry followed. Mal turned to Solo and asked, “Do you think we can find Ben before Audrey does something else to him?” Solo sighed and said, “I believe that we will be successful. I trust that Audrey won’t do anything bad to him. He’s only asleep at the moment.” “How do you know that?” Mal said. “I just do,” Solo lied, not wanting Mal to find out his secret. “Why should I trust you?” Mal asked. “I feel that you aren’t being all forthcoming.” Chewie softly roared as Solo told him, “Chewie, can you give us a minute?” Chewie nodded and walked into the house. Solo turned back to Mal, took both of her hands in his, and said, “You can trust me, Mal. I want to stop Audrey as much as you do. And I want to get Ben back as much as you do. You just need to have faith.” Mal looked down at their hands and felt something familiar. Solo noticed and pulled his hands away awkwardly. Mal stared at Solo and said, “I trust that you want to stop Audrey. But that’s as far as my trust goes. I’m watching you.” She turned and went back into the house leaving Solo standing there._ _

__“You still haven’t told here huh?” Solo turned and saw Uma standing next to a bench. “I thought you were in the house,” Solo said. “I snuck out,” Uma said. She walked to Solo and said, “Why haven’t you told her the truth, Ben?” Solo sighed and said, “I want to tell her everything. Even the things that you don’t know about. But I can’t It’s not the right time. The Force will know when it’s time. But I sense that it’s close.” “You puzzle me, Ben,” Uma said. “I don’t understand why you look like this and how you are always like this when your body is knocked out. What is this form?” Solo sighed and said, “If I have to tell my secrets, then Mal is the first to know. I owe her that much. Just know that.”_ _

__Mal walked toward the front door looking for Uma and saw her with Solo as the two talked to each other. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but Mal thought, “Why is Solo talking with Uma? Is it about what Uma knows about Solo that I don’t? Why doesn’t Solo trust me with his secrets but he does with Uma?” Sighing, she turned around to give the two privacy as she knew that she would have to confront Solo about what he was hiding, but for now, she had a plan to make._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOOhhh. Things are happening. And Solo might have to come clean soon. 
> 
> "Night Falls" is probably my favorite song from the whole move. (And I don't own it by the way) Now as for "One Kiss" as much as I love Sofia Carson, this is my least favorite song from the entire soundtrack and I felt it was unnecessary as it just padded the story out. So I left it out.
> 
> Next chapter may be a few days as I will be busy this weekend and won't have a lot of writing time. I will get the next chapter out when I can. See you then.


	30. My Once Upon a Time

The sun had set as Mal, Evie, Carlos, Jay, Dude, Uma, Harry, Celia, Solo, and Chewie snuck through the woods towards Fairy Cottage. Solo could sense some evil force in the cottage, but he couldn’t tell what is was. Was it Audrey? He hoped so. Mal pulled out the ember from her pocket ready for action, and hoped that it could happen quickly so that she wouldn’t have to hold onto the ember in her hand for too long because she didn’t want it to drain her magic and life force like Hades warned. The group crept through the front gate and Solo used the Force to push the front door off its hinges and have it strike the wall opposite it. The group ran inside and they looked throughout the entire cottage. Jay ran upstairs to check, but came back down and said, “She’s not upstairs.” “She’s not here,” Solo said bitterly. “I can feel some of her aura here. She tricked us. And we fell for it.” He clenched his fist and the table went flying into the wall, startling everyone.

Suddenly they heard someone banging on a door nearby. Everyone froze. Solo raised his hand and undid the lock and the door opened to reveal Chad sitting on the ground holding his legs to his chest. “Chad Charming,” Solo said. Chad looked up and saw everyone staring at him, and he flinched when he saw Solo and screamed when he saw Chewbacca. “I want my mommy,” Chad muttered. Solo walked over to help Chad up, but Chad backed away and shouted, “No! Stay away! You and that giant bear!” Chewie laughed as Solo chuckled and reached his hand down and said, “It’s OK. We’re not here to hurt you.” He helped Chad to his feet and said, “However, you will tell us what happened here.” Chad’s eyes glazed over and he said, “Audrey hid here with Ben, but he was asleep. She found out that you all learned of this location. So she put me in the closet as bait. Then she disappeared with Ben.” Chad’s eyes cleared up and he shook his head. He saw the open door and said, “The door is open. I’m free. Freedom!” He ran out the door as Harry laughed at Chad. Solo glared at Harry, and that shut the pirate up. The group sighed as they walked out the front door.

Jane, Doug, and Gil ran to the museum and found Fairy Godmother in statue form on the steps. “Oh, my gosh,” Jane said as, Doug, and Gil walked to the statue. Jane looked at her mother’s statue and said, “Hi, Mom. Um, I don’t know if you can hear me. But it’s been a really crazy day. On the plus side, it’s been the longest birthday I’ve ever had. On the minus side, everybody’s under an evil spell. But on the plus side, Carlos remembered my birthday. See? He got me this necklace. We’re going to figure out how to undo this. We’ll find a way to make this right, Mom.” Doug and Gil looked at each other as Jane talked to her mom in statue form, seeing that Jane was slightly crazy, but understood that she had a bad day.

The group outside Fairy Cottage walked out where Dude was waiting as Uma said, “Ooh. All right. Let’s get this Audrey chick taken care of already.” “Agreed,” Solo said. “We need to think about where Audrey would hid the king next. We need to do some brainstorming. Once Audrey is defeated, then everything will return to normal.” “And,” Evie said. “Mal will make her promise true about letting all the kids off the Isle once this is over?” Solo stopped walking and turned to Mal and said, “Did you now? Is that the truth?” Mal looked up at Solo and sensed that he knew that she was lying. 

Sighing, Mal said, “I have to tell you guys something. I lied to you. The kids won’t be coming off the Isle.” “What do you mean?” Jay asked. “The program is shut down,” Mal answered. “And the barrier will be closed for good. For Auradon’s safety.” Evie, Carlos, and Jay stood there in shock. “Hold up,” Uma said. “So we’re saving your precious people and your behinds for a lie. You’re always out for yourself.” “I knew it was a mistake to trust you.” Celia walked up to Mal and said, “I actually thought you were brave. You’re nothing but a chicken. Too scared to tell me I was never gonna see my dad again.” She snatched the ember out of Mal’s hand and tossed it into a nearby bird bath and the ember lost its light. “No!” Mal shouted as she ran over and grabbed it while Celia walked away. She tried to get its light back, “Regain your might and ignite! Regain your might and ignite!” But the ember wouldn’t ignite. Uma looked at Mal and said, “Bummer.” 

Harry turned to Solo and said, “You’re probably siding with her on this and will throw us all back inside.” “I did not agree with this choice,” Solo said. “I want those kids off that Isle as much as you do. But we all need to work together to save Auradon.” “No,” Uma said walking up to Solo. “We don’t. You and Mal can do it on your own. Even though you two are keeping secrets from each other. If anyone is scared to tell the truth, it’s you.” Solo stepped back as if he was slapped. Uma walked over to Harry and said, “Let’s go find Gil and leave them all to rot.” Uma walked away and Harry followed behind her.

Mal stood there ready to cry at any moment. She looked over at Evie and said, “Evie. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry, I just…I thought that…I was afraid to tell you. I thought I was gonna lose my best friend. But I had to do something. I had to protect Auradon.” Evie walked up to Mal and asked, “Closing the barrier was your idea?” “I did it for us,” Mal answered. “I did it for our life that we have here now.” “For our life?” Evie shouted. “What about the kids that we left behind on that island? The kids that we promised? We were their only hope. I thought you were gonna stand up for the VKs. But instead, you lied to them. And you lied to Jay. And you lied to Carlos. And you lied to me. We’re your family. Maybe we never were.” Evie turned around and walked back towards Carlos, Jay and Dude. “Evie!” Mal cried out as Solo stood there with Chewbacca in silence. “Come on! I had no choice!” Suddenly a flash of light came down on Evie, Carlos, Jay, and Dude and they were turned to stone. “No!” Mal shouted as Solo and Chewbacca looked at the statues in shock. 

Tears streamed down Mal’s face as Solo walked over and said, “We need to go Mal. We need to stop Audrey before it’s too late.” Mal turned and glared at Solo and said, “Just stop! Don’t touch me!” Solo reeled back in shock as Chewbacca gave a soft roar. “Mal,” Solo said. “I’m sorry that this happened to you, but you knew that this would happen. I could sense your guilt since I met up with you earlier today. You should have been truthful from the start of all of this.” Mal shouted, “i haven’t been truthful? Ha! You’re one to talk. You haven’t been truthful since we met last year.” “This is different, Mal,” Solo argued. “Is it?” Mal asked. “Because I know that you know the reasons why I have been getting those dreams about you and that girl. I know that Uma knows something about you that I don’t. And I know that your connection with Ben is something greater than you are letting on. Isn’t that right, Solo? Or should I call you Kylo Ren?” 

Solo stepped backwards in shock and asked, “How do you know that name?” “Because I heard it,” Mal answered. “In my dreams. That is what the people in my dreams called you. The people who were afraid of you. When you slaughtered an entire village. When you ran your lightsaber through your own father’s heart.” “I told you,” Solo said angrily as Chewbacca tried to intervene, but Solo was using the Force to hold him back. “I am not that man anymore. I’ve changed. Do you think I'm not horrified by my actions in the past? I am. I have been suffering from what I did for a very long time. I have always been suffering. Did you know that I always had a dark voice in my head since before I can remember calling me to the dark side? And the people I looked up to never believed me? They just saw darkness in me, because of my legacy. Did you know that my own uncle tried to kill me because he sensed darkness in me and thought that was the way to help me? Because he thought I was so lost that I should’ve died? Yes I have done some bad things in my past. But I am here now as a second chance to have a better life. Like those kids on the Isle deserve. Like you got. You need to wake up and realize what your destiny actually is. But I am not going to sit back and watch those children suffer for crimes they did not commit and not get the life they deserve!” 

Mal stepped back in shock at Solo’s last statement. She heard those words before, from Ben. Solo realized what Mal realized and he stepped backwards. “I’ve heard that before,” Mal whispered. “Ben said that this morning. Why did you say what he said?” “Doesn’t matter,” Solo argued but Mal persisted, “Were you there watching us?” “Just drop it,” Solo warned. “Tell me!” Mal shouted. Solo glared at Mal and shouted, “Let it go, Rey!” Solo’s eyes widened and his hand flew to his mouth in shock. Mal stared at Solo and asked, “What did you say?” Solo stepped backwards as Mal said, “You called me Rey. That’s the name of the girl in my dreams. That’s the name Hades calls me. And now you. Why?” Solo shook his head and whispered, “I can’t tell you.” Mal glared at Solo and said, “Then leave. I don’t trust you. Get out of here. Now!” “Mal,” Solo tried to comfort her but Mal shouted, “Go!” Chewbacca roared softly as Solo hung his head low. He reached over and grabbed Mal’s hand before she could move it and he kissed the back of her hand. Mal looked up at Solo in shock, as the only person who would kiss her hand like that was Ben. But before she could say anything else, Solo turned to Chewbacca and said, “Let’s go, Chewie. We have a kingdom to save.” Solo walked away and Chewbacca sadly followed. 

Mal stared at her hand then up at where Solo and Chewbacca walked away. “Could it be?” Mal thought. She looked back at the statues of her friends and realized that now she was all alone. She took a deep breath and started to sing,

Here you are alone 

And you deserve it

Your friends have turned to stone

And that’s on you

You had a cause to serve

But did you serve it?

Or did you see yourself in a way that wasn’t true?

This is not your mother’s dark desire

And no, it’s not your father’s hair on fire

Turns out it’s you that’s not awake

So if there’s change you wanna make

Take once upon a time

She fought a dragon

Once upon a time

That beast was me

Once upon a misspent youth

She faced herself

She spoke the truth

That’s how I see my once upon a time

This time

Mal turned away from the statues and ran to find Uma and Harry. She needed magic to ignite Hades’ ember and she needed to save Auradon, without Solo, who she told to go away.

Solo and Chewbacca walked through the forest in a random direction, of which Chewbacca asked why. “I know where I’m going,” Solo retorted. Chewbacca roared and Solo shouted, “Yes I do. I’m just walking this way because I feel like it.” Chewbacca softly roared and Solo stopped in his tracks and whispered, “Maybe you’re right.” He sank onto his knees as the stress of what just happened between him and Mal come to the surface. He screamed in fury as the trees around him within a few feet snapped and fell to the ground. Then tears came down Solo’s face as he sat and cried, “I blew it, Chewie. I blew my second chance at a better life. With Rey….Mal. She doesn’t want me around. And when she finds out the truth, she’ll run away again. I can’t make her wish come true. I failed.” He cried more and Chewbacca stood there unsure of what to do. So he did the only thing he could do, he walked over and knelt down to the ground and hugged Solo, who flinched at first, then hugged Chewbacca back. 

“Well, this is an interesting sight.” Solo and Chewbacca looked up and saw Agathe standing there. “Why are you so down, young Skywalker?” Solo stood up with Chewbacca behind him and said, “I think you already know the answer, Agathe. Everything’s ruined. There’s nothing I can do to fix it.” “That isn’t true and you know it,” Agathe said. “You and Rey had a fight. It happens. You two weren’t being truthful to each other and this is the result.” “Because you told me not to tell her about her past!” Solo shouted. “You told me that I could only tell her when the Force deems it time. And I have waited long enough! She has waited long enough! Why didn’t you tell me that her memories were coming back at a faster rate?” “She should have been the one to tell you,” Agathe answered. “You two need to work on your communication.” “That’s not helping!” Solo shouted. “Again with the shouting,” Agathe said. “Maybe you need to settle down and think. Yes you had to keep this secret for a long time. But maybe you should listen to the Force and see what it says.” “What?” Solo was puzzled at Agathe’s statement. Agathe sighed and said, “You’ve been so busy dealing with Auradon that you forgot about the Force.” “I have not!” Solo retorted. “Yes, you have,” Agathe argued. “You are so worried about the future and scared to reveal the past that you forgot to connect to the Force to let it guide you. Maybe if you reach out, you will find your answer.” 

Solo sighed and realized Agathe was right. He sat down in a meditative pose and focused his energy on the Force to see if it was time to tell Mal everything. He saw the dreams that Mal had been getting and he heard Agathe’s voice telling Mal that the time was near to reagin what she had lost. Solo opened his eyes and looked at Agathe and asked, “It’s time? Finally?” Agathe nodded and said, “Yes. Tell her what she needs to know. That one day she will have to find me to regain what she lost. Her memories and Force connection. But her coming to me is her choice, not yours. Give her what she needs to know and let her make the decision. She has waited long enough to hear the truth. And you have been so patient with this. The Force knows this. And it deems you ready to tell her. Good luck.” Agathe then disappeared and Solo sat there with Chewbacca looking down at him with concern. Solo looked up at Chewbacca and said, “No more lies. I am not going to be silent any longer. Mal may still love me, she may hate me. But I need to do this. This will risk me getting my true happy ending with Mal, but at least I will tell her the truth and tell her that I love her no matter what decision she makes. It’s time. Time to start a new chapter in life. Not one where I am defined by my legacy of being the son of Leia Organa and Han Solo. Not one where I am Kylo Ren, Supreme Leader of the First Order. A new one with Mal.” Solo stood up and walked toward where he felt Mal was going, singing the same song that was on Mal’s heart,

Why tell all those lies?

You feel unworthy

Like there isn’t solid ground

For you to stand

But a stack of lies

Is not a firm foundation

You cannot build a castle on a mountain made of sand

This is not your father’s fairytale

And no, it’s not your mother’s fault you failed

So when your story comes to light

Make sure the story that they write

Goes once upon a time

A man tried harder

Once upon a time

He tried again

Once upon a braver choice

He took a risk

He used his voice

And that will be my once upon a time

This time

Solo felt some pain in his chest and he started to flicker a bit. Chewbacca rushed over to him with concern. “I’m OK for now,” Solo said. “We need to hurry. Time is running out. Come on, Chewie. We need to find Mal and stop Audrey.” Solo ran in the direction he felt Mal and Chewbacca ran behind him. 

Uma and Harry were walking in front of Auradon Prep and Mal ran up to catch them shouting, “Uma, stop! Please, stop! I need your help! We have a chance if we do this together.” “Your friends kick you to the curb?” Uma asked. “And Solo ditched you? Now that surprises me given how he is with you.” Mal shook her head and said, “Ben saw something in you. And today, Uma, I saw it, too. You care. Uma, you care about everybody. And Auradon is worth saving. Help us, please.” 

“She’s right.” Mal looked behind Uma and Harry and saw Solo and Chewbacca walking up to the group. “There is good in you, Uma. I’ve seen it. You can help Auradon. You can help Mal.” “No way,” Uma said. “She brought this on herself. She can fix it. And you can fix what you need to fix. Come on, Harry.” But Solo froze them in place and said, “I am fixing it. Right now.” Solo walked up to Mal as Chewbacca guarded Uma and Harry. “Mal,” Solo said. “You’re right. I have been keeping things from you. And I promise that tonight I will start making things right. I didn’t tell you the truth about me, your dreams, any of it because I couldn’t. It wasn’t time yet. The Force didn’t deem it time.” “There you go with the Force again,” Harry said which made Chewbacca growl at him. Solo looked at Mal and said, “It’s time, Mal. It’s time for the both of us to tell the truth. It’s time for both of us to live a better life. The life we deserve. The life all of the VKs deserve.” Mal nodded and said, “I believe you’re right.” Solo looked into Mal’s eyes and started to sing, with Mal joining in,

(Solo)

Life is not a storybook

But life unfolds in chapters

Turn the page and start to make amends

(Mal)

There’s no pre-written guarantee

Of happily ever after

Step into your greatness before your story ends

So when your story ends

They’ll say once upon a time

A girl flew higher

(Solo)

Once upon a time

He made things right

(Mal and Solo)

Once upon a time that binds

She/he changed her/his heart

To change their minds

That’s got to be my once upon a time

This once upon a time

I’ll finally see my once upon a time

This time

Mal and Solo stared into each other’s eyes and Mal saw the same spark that she saw in Ben’s eyes. But before she could say anything, Uma whistled and said, “Fantastic singing you two. Bravo. Now, can we please be let go?” Mal walked over to Uma and said, “I know that you have been lied to. But I still need your help. I won’t close the barrier. But if you want to return after all of this is done, then that is your wish and I will respect that. You too, Harry.” “I will make sure of it,” Solo said walking forward. “I promise you that one day all those kids suffering on the Isle will be brought here. It will take time, but it will be done.” Uma smiled and said, “How very kingly of you to say. Very well. We’ll help. But I’m still not a fan of helping you Mal.” “Are you sure, Captain?” Harry asked. Uma nodded and Mal smiled. 

Suddenly, Solo felt another sharp pain in his chest and he knelt to the ground in pain. Chewbacca rushed over to help him and Mal asked, “What’s wrong?” Solo shocked the group as his form was fading in and out and he gasped, “I’ve been away for too long. The strain is getting to be too much. We need to find Audrey now! And you, Mal, need to break Audrey’s spell.” “Been away from what too long?” Harry asked. Solo sighed and said, “From me.” Solo’s form solidified again and he said, “We need to locate Audrey and fast.” “Well,” Uma said. “Where else would this princess be hiding?” “Well,” Mal said. “She’s not in her dorm room. She’s not at Fairy Cottage. Maybe she’s at her family’s castle.” Solo suddenly realized something and said, “No. She's wants to be Queen of Auradon.” “And she’s obsessed with Ben,” Uma added. “Right,” Solo said. “She must be hiding at the one place where she wanted to be her whole life.” “Ben’s castle,” Mal realized. “We need to get there fast.” Mal transformed into her dragon form and Solo said to Uma and Harry, “Both of you hop onto Mal’s back. You too, Chewie. She’ll fly you to the castle.” “What about you?” Harry asked. “Got it covered,” Solo said as he slowly flew off the ground showing that he can fly. Uma, Harry, and Chewbacca quickly jumped onto dragon Mal’s back and the group flew off to Ben’s castle.

Dragon Mal and Solo flew all the way to Ben’s castle within a few minutes and landed on the ground outside the front door. Uma, Harry, and Chewie hopped off of dragon Mal’s back as she transformed back into herself. “OK,” Uma said. “Where you think Audrey could be hiding in here? This place is huge.” Solo sighed and said, “I have a good guess where.” Mal looked at Solo and realized, “Ben’s bedroom.” “Eww,” Uma said. “That’s gross.” “I agree,” Solo said. “Let’s go.” The five ran into the castle straight to Ben’s bedroom. 

They found the door to Ben’s bedroom open and the cautiously walked through. They found Audrey sitting on Ben’s bed with Ben’s sleeping body lying in it. Audrey was sitting next to him stroking his hair. She smiled and said, “I knew you would find me Mal. But I didn’t expect others to come with you.” She used the scepter to blast Uma and Harry back towards the couch and summoned vines to hold the two in place. Chewbacca growled and raised his crossbow and fired at Audrey, who froze the arrow with magic and then blasted Chewbacca to a chair and summoned vines to tie him up. Solo pulled out his lightsaber and ignited it and said, “Enough! This has to end Audrey!” Audrey giggled and said, “This will never end. Sure you were right that you would bring Mal to me to try and free her precious king. I was counting on that.” She blasted Solo with magic, but Solo blocked it with his lightsaber, which frustrated Audrey. Solo smirked and said, “I am much more than the magic of that scepter you stole from the museum. Or did the voice in your head not tell you about that?” Audrey growled as Uma shouted, “Don’t listen to that voice. He is using you, like he used me months ago. Don’t be his pawn.” “Lies,” the dark voice hissed in Audrey’s head through the scepter. “He’s using the scepter to draw darkness from you, Audrey,” Mal said. “Just drop the scepter and you’ll be free.” 

Audrey laughed and said, “I am free. I am finally being who I was always meant to be. I am the true Queen of Auradon. Not you. You put a spell under my Benny to make him love you. To make him break the betrothal contract we had. To make all of Auradon respect you instead of me. I am what’s best for Auradon. Not you!” She summoned vines to wrap around Mal and Solo shouted, “Let her go!” Audrey laughed and said, “You may not be affected by magic, but they can. Although, Mal somehow break the old hag spell I put on her. Now why is that?” “Keep away from her!” Solo growled pointing his lightsaber at Audrey. “Fine,” Audrey said as she looked back down at Ben. “I have what I want anyway. Mal alone and helpless and Ben here in my arms ready for my true love’s kiss to wake him up and we will live happily ever after. Like we were always meant to be.” 

Audrey then heard chuckling. She looked up and saw Solo laughing to himself, with Mal looking at Solo like he’s lost his mind, and Uma, Harry, and Chewbacca were thinking the same thing. “What’s so funny?” Audrey shouted. Solo calmed his laughing and answered, “You. You really think that Ben is your true love? You really are more blind than I thought you were.” Audrey growled and said, “I am not blind. Auradon is blind. They all think that Mal is their savior and protector but she isn’t. Right Mal?” “You’re wrong, Audrey,” Mal said trying to talk even though a vine was around her throat. “Ben never loved you. He told me himself. He hated the fact that you two were betrothed. That’s why he ran away during his 7th birthday party. He hated the dates you two had and the way you acted. All you thought about was yourself and what you wanted. Did you ever ask him what he wanted?” “Of course I did,” Audrey said. “He loves me. And I love him.” “Do you?” Solo asked. “Or a better question, do you really understand what love is?” “Of course I do,” Audrey retorted. “Love is about the person you are meant to have your happily ever after with. And Ben is that to me.” 

“Then why haven’t you given a true love’s kiss yet?” Solo asked. Audrey was about to retort, but she came up short. She looked down at Ben’s sleeping form while Solo continued, “Think about it. You have never shared an actual kiss with your supposed true love. Always a kiss on the cheek. The same true love who never liked the same things you liked. Who was never friends with your friends. Who always tried to find ways to avoid seeing you. Who was upset that you never liked any of the VKs to begin with. And who knew that you lied to the King and Queen as well as your own parents about how you two got along so well and you felt a connection. When in reality it was all a lie. You don’t love the man lying next to you. You never ever loved someone more than you love yourself.” 

Audrey glared at Solo and shouted, “How dare you! Who do you think you are? And how can you know what love feels like?” “Because,” Solo said. “I have a true love. A love that I have sacrificed my own life for so that she could live and that I have been reborn for so that we can have a second chance at a better life. And I love her more than life itself. She’s funny, kind, brave, thoughtful, and smart. I love the fact that she will defend those who can’t defend themselves. That even though she comes from the Isle, she has a strong spirit. That even though she has made mistakes, I have too and we get over them together. And that even though we have kept things from each other, we want to share the truth and have a future together. Forever. Because we’ve earned it. Because she is the true Queen that you will never be.”

Mal looked over at Solo hearing everything he just said and the wheels in her head were turning into place. Harry tried to lean over and whispered, “What’s going on?” Uma smiled and said, “I think Mal’s figured it out.” Mal started to tear up and said, “Ben?” Solo looked over and Mal and smiled sweetly while nodding. “Surprise,” Solo said. Chewbacca roared with happiness that Mal figured it out finally. Audrey stared at Solo and whispered, “You’re Ben? But you’re here, asleep in my arms. This doesn’t make any sense.” Solo chuckled and said, “It’s a long story.” 

Solo suddenly knelt to the ground in pain as Mal shouted, “Ben! What’s happening?” Solo stared up at where his body was and said, “I’ve been away from my body for too long. I haven’t astral projected for this long before. My spirit is losing its connection with my body. If I don’t wake up soon, I never will again.” Audrey narrowed her eyes and said, “I don’t understand what’s going on, but I will wake up my true love and become his queen. Like I was always meant to be. And Mal can watch as everything she worked for falls apart.” “No!” Mal shouted as she tried to break free of the vines with her magic but couldn’t.

Audrey leaned down and kissed Ben gently on the lips. Uma and Harry flinched from their prison on the couch, Chewbacca roared loudly, and Mal and Solo groaned. Audrey pulled away and opened her eyes looking down at Ben hoping his eyes would open. But they didn’t. Audrey kissed Ben again and again, but Ben would not wake up. Audrey screamed in fury and glared at Mal, “This is your doing!” Mal looked at Audrey sadly and said, “No. You are seeing the truth right in front of your eyes. Ben won’t wake up from your kiss because you aren’t his true love. And he isn’t yours.” Audrey started to cry and her anger started to rise. 

But before she could do anything, she was suddenly launched off of the bed and was frozen against the wall. “What?” Audrey shouted. “I can’t move.” Mal looked down and whispered, “Are you doing this?” Solo shook his head, “This isn’t me.” Mal’s Kyber crystal around her neck glowed and she looked over and saw three men and a small green creature with their hands raised towards Audrey. She recognized one of them from her dreams; Luke Skywalker. She saw Han Solo appear next to Solo and helped him to stand and said to Solo, “Free Mal. She needs to wake you up now. Your time is almost up.” Mal saw two women sit next to Ben on the floor next to his bed holding onto his hands. Mal recognized one of them was Leia, who looked over at Solo and shout, “Hurry. Those four can’t hold Audrey long. Our energy trying to keep your body alive is running out. Get Mal over here now!” Solo nodded and swung his lightsaber through the vines holding Mal and she was freed. 

Harry leaned over to Uma and whispered, “Do you have any idea what’s going on?” Uma shook her head and whispered, “No. But I sense something else is here. My necklace is going crazy right now.”

Solo stared at Mal and said, “Mal, you need to wake me up. My time is running out. I promise that I will explain everything later. But you need to help me. Please.” Mal nodded and ran and hopped onto the bed, avoiding the two spirit ladies kneeling next to Ben. Mal put one of her hands on Ben’s cheek and whispered, “I love you.” She leaned down and gave him a kiss on the lips as Audrey screamed, “No!” But Audrey couldn’t break free of the four Force spirits holding her, even though she couldn’t see them. But the dark presence hiding in the scepter did and whispered, “So, I’m not the only spirit hiding out here. This makes things interesting.” 

As Mal kissed Ben, Solo felt the kiss on his lips as he started to fade and his spirit merged back into his body. Mal pulled away and Ben opened his eyes and stared up at Mal whispering, “You did it. Thank you.” Mal started to cry and said, “You still have a lot to explain to me though.” “I do,” Ben said. “And explain why there are seven sprits hanging around you,” Mal pointed out to Ben. “You can see them?” Ben asked. Mal nodded as the four spirits holding Audrey on the wall let her go and Han Solo chuckled, “She still has that spunk I like about her.” The seven Force spirits disappeared and merged back into Ben’s body, which Mal saw entirely and Ben noticed that she saw and whispered, “I’ll explain later.” 

Audrey rose from the ground and stared at Mal leaning over Ben. “It’s true,” Audrey thought. “Mal is really Ben’s true love. But she still won’t be Queen. I am.” She swung the scepter down onto Mal, but Ben saw this and summoned his lightsaber and ignited it, blocking the scepter from hitting Mal. Uma and Harry’s eyes widened as Chewie roared with triumph. Mal moved out of the way as Ben rose from the bed and pushed Audrey away saying, “That was a low blow.” He raised his hand and Force pushed Audrey through the balcony door and Audrey hit the railing falling onto the floor of the balcony. Ben jumped over and free Uma, Harry, and Chewbacca with his lightsaber. “Finally,” Uma said. “Took you long enough.” “What?” Ben asked innocently. “To free you?” “That,” Uma answered. “And to tell Mal the truth. I surprised she didn’t figure it out sooner.” “Wait,” Mal said. “How did you know?” “Ben didn’t tell me,” Uma said. “I figured it out on my own.” “I’m still confused by all of this,” Harry said. “Ben and Solo are the same person?” “Details to follow,” Ben said. 

Audrey rose from her spot on the balcony and said, “You haven’t won yet. I still have something up my sleeve.” She waved her scepter and Celia appeared wrapped in vines and the girl shouted, “Help me, Mal!” Audrey laughed and said, “Yeah, save your little friend, Mal! Time to finish this!” Audrey then magically disappeared with Celia and reappeared on the roof of the castle. Mal ran out to the balcony and transformed into a dragon. Ben, Uma, Chewbacca, and Harry ran out to the balcony as dragon Mal flew up into the air and saw Audrey and Celia, who was trying to break free of her vines. 

Dragon Mal shot a blast of fire that Audrey blocked then shot a blast of magic at Mal. Audrey then grabbed Celia as dragon Mal was about to attack Audrey again, who chuckled and said, “Careful not to fry your little VK buddy.” Ben looked at Uma and Harry and said, “I’m going up there to get Celia. Stay here. Chewie, come with me.” Holding his lightsaber, Ben used his Force agility to scale and jump onto the roof and headed towards Audrey with Chewbacca climbing the roof while dragon Mal was distracting her. 

Audrey was laughing evilly at dragon Mal when suddenly Celia was pulled from her grasp and into Ben’s. Chewbacca came up and Ben handed Celia to Chewbacca and said, “Chewie, guard her.” Chewbacca roared a couple times and Ben nodded. Audrey turned and glared at the king and said, “Hello, Benny-boo.” Ben swung his lightsaber at the vines holding Celia while Chewbacca stepped back for a minute and Ben freed her. Chewbacca put Celia behind his back while Ben glared at Audrey and said, “You know, I never liked that nickname, Audrey.” Audrey growled and fired a last of magic at Ben, who blocked it with his lightsaber. “Mal!” Ben told dragon Mal mentally, “I’ll hold Audrey off. You need to to reignite the ember. We need to get the scepter away from her. Only then will she be free.” Ben charged in at Audrey and swung his lightsaber toward the scepter, but Audrey dodged and the two started to fight.

Dragon Mal blew magical fire at the ember to try and reignite it, but to no avail. Uma noticed this from below and told Harry, “She doesn’t stand a chance without the ember. Come on.” Uma started to clime onto the roof and Harry joined her. They got to another section of the roof as Ben Force pushed Audrey away as she was getting closer to Celia. 

Uma looked up at dragon Mal and pulled out her shell necklace and shouted, “We’re stronger together. I’m right here, Mal! Regain your might and ignite. I’m right here, girl. I'm right here. Regain your might and ignite!” Dragon Mal started to tear up with happiness at Uma helping her. She looked down at the ember in her claws and saw it reignite. Uma and Harry cheered as dragon Mal flew back to where Audrey was with Ben and Celia was. “You want a piece of this, huh?” Audrey asked Ben. Ben saw dragon Mal flew up behind Audrey and said, “No. I think your end is here.” Audrey turned around and saw dragon Mal and blasted magic at the dragon, but dragon Mal fired magic from the ember at Audrey and the two blasts clashed together. “Go, Mal!” Celia shouted. “Go, Mal!” Harry shouted. “You got this!” Uma shouted. “You got this, girl!” 

Meanwhile, Ben used the Force to connect to the scepter and found the dark presence inside it. “You have failed,” Ben mentally told the dark presence. “The ember is mush more powerful than the scepter. You won’t be able to use Audrey anymore.” The dark presence chuckled and said, “It matters not. My pawn has done her job. You will see me again, young Skywalker. And I will be victorious.” Ben growled as the dark presence left the scepter laughing evilly and disappeared. Ben couldn’t sense it anywhere. “Where did it go?” Ben thought. “And what is he planning? I have a bad feeling about this.” 

Meanwhile, dragon Mal was slowly winning the magical battle with Audrey as the power of the ember was overpowering the scepter and getting closer and closer to Audrey. Dragon Mal felt her magic and life-force slowly draining away as Hades had warned. But she held on and used the magic of the ember to overpower Audrey and blast Audrey down, knocking the scepter from Audrey’s reach as the princess fell to the ground. 

Below, Uma and Harry were cheering at Mal’s victory. “Yeah!” Harry shouted. “Come on!” “Yes!” Uma cheered as Harry hugged Uma and twirled her around. 

Celia got up from where she was hiding from behind Chewbacca as the Wookiee roared with triumph. Ben summoned the scepter to him. “Whatever the Sith presence that was in the scepter has fled,” Ben said. Celia looked at Ben confused and Ben said, “I’ll explain later.” 

Ben heard dragon Mal roar softly and Ben saw that the dragon looked weak. Purple mist surrounded the dragon as she turned back into her human form and started to fall towards the ground. “No!” Ben shouted as he raised his hand toward Mal and used the Force to stop her descent. He summoned Mal’s unconscious body to him and he grabbed her, the ember falling onto the floor of the roof. Uma and Harry quickly climbed the roof to get to where the others were. 

Ben kneeled to the ground and tried to wake Mal up, “Mal. Wake up. Please. You did it. You saved Auradon. Please be OK. Don’t leave me. Not again. Mal. Rey.” Uma, Harry, and Celia were surprised at the name Ben called Mal. Ben then made a decision and raised one of his hands over Mal’s stomach and closed his eyes. He concentrated on the Force and started to send some of his life energy to Mal. 

Celia felt something warm in her pocket and pulled out one of her cards. It read “sacrifice”. Celia then got a vision of Solo sitting with a brown haired girl who was not moving in a dark cave doing the exact same thing Ben is doing to Mal. The brown haired girl got up, but then Solo fell down, dead. “He’s done this before,” Celia whispered. Uma heard what Celia said and asked, “What?” “He’s going to sacrifice his own life to bring Mal back,” Celia said. Uma turned to Ben and shouted, “Ben! Don’t!” “I have to,” Ben said. “I love her more than life itself. If that means I have to give my life for hers again, I will do it in a heartbeat.”

“There is another way.” Ben opened his eyes and saw Agathe standing over him and Mal. Uma, Harry, and Celia stepped backwards in shock. Chewbacca roared softly as Agathe walked up to the king and said, “You already made that sacrifice once. And it cost you your life because you were all alone. But now you are not alone. The spirits inside of you can help you heal her. Restore what the ember took from her. Call to them and they will assist you.” Ben felt the Force spirits surround him and Mal as they focused their energy to healing Mal, while Uma, Harry, and Celia stared at what was happening. Ben stared down at Mal’s unconscious form and whispered, “Come back to me, Rey.” He leaned down and gave her a kiss on the lips as the Force spirits finished their task.

As Ben pulled away, Mal opened her eyes and looked around her. She saw Uma, Harry, and Celia staring at her in shock while Chewbacca roared softly. She looked up and saw Ben starting down at her smiling. She saw sprits surrounding them as they whispered, “May the Force be with you.” And they disappeared back into Ben’s body. Ben started to tear up and whispered, “Mal. You’re OK. I’m here.” Mal reached up and put her hand on Ben’s cheek and whispered, “Ben.” She leaned up and gave Ben a kiss which he easily reciprocates. When Mal pulls away, she sees Agathe, not knowing her name, looking down at her and Mal tensed up. Ben looks over at Agathe, who smiles and says, “Fear not. I am not here to hurt you. I know you recognize me from your dreams. Know this. You do not have to make a decision today, but soon you will. The time is coming to regain what you have lost. When the times comes, you will find me waiting for you.” She turned to Ben and said, “As for you, young King. The dark presence that influenced the princess will return. I don’t know when, but you must be on your guard. This presence threatens what you and your true love wish to have. Your destiny is threatened. Be prepared for what might come.” She then disappeared from the roof. 

Mal looked up at Ben and asked, “Another thing to discuss later?” Ben chuckled and said, “Yes. For now, we have to finish up with what happened.” Ben helped Mal to stand as Celia ran over and hugged Mal, who was startled at first, then hugged Celia back and whispered, “It’s OK. I’ve got you.” Uma ran over and hugged Mal whispering, “I’m glad you’re alright, girl.” Mal chuckled and pulled away as Harry walked over and patted Mal on the shoulder saying, “Good work.” Chewbacca ran over and pulled Mal into a bear hug as Mal muttered, “Chewie. Can’t breathe.” Chewbacca let Mal go and Mal chuckled along with Ben.

Over at Evie’s place, Dizzy, Squeaky, and Squirmy woke up as all of Audrey’s spells were wearing off. Squeaky and Squirmy looked at each other and said at the same time, “I’m hungry.” “Me too,” Dizzy agreed as all three got off the couch and went into the kitchen to have more pieces of Jane’s cake.

Over at the museum, Fairy Godmother returned to normal and Jane ran over and hugged her mom. “Bibbidi-bobbidi,” Fairy Godmother said. “What happened?” Doug and Gil walked over as Jane explained, “The spell has been broken. It’s OK.” 

Over in front of Fairy Cottage, Evie, Carlos, Jay, and Dude returned to normal. They all looked at each other and Evie said, “Come on. We need to find everyone. Let’s go.” Jay walked over to Carlos and asked, “Are you good?” Carlos nodded and said, “Yeah.” as the group walked away.

Back on the roof of Ben’s castle, Mal picked up the ember and put it back into her pocket. Everyone looked down at Audrey’s unconscious form and saw that she returned to her normal look at her blonde hair was back as well as the outfit she wore the previous day. Mal walked over and kneeled next to her and tried to wake her, but to no avail. “Oh, no,” Mal realized. She remembered her father’s words, “You’re only half Hades. The ember won’t do everything for you that it does for me.” Ben kneeled down next to Mal and whispered, “Is Audrey OK?” Mal shook her head and said, “She won’t wake up. We need to move her and return the scepter to where it belongs.” Ben nodded as Mal picked up the scepter and chanted, “Evil scepter in my hand, return to the museum where you should stand.” Mal waved her hand and the scepter disappeared, reappearing in its stand back at the museum. 

Chewbacca walked over and picked up Audrey bridal style as Ben said, “We need to move Audrey to a safe place. Mal, teleport us to her dorm room. I’ll text the others and have them meet us there.” Mal nodded and waved her arm around and everyone disappeared from the roof as Audrey’s spells over Auradon were lifted and the kingdom started to return to normal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. That was intense. I promise the next chapter will come out in a few days. Plus, the song used, "My Once Upon a Time" I do not own. See you later!


	31. Break This Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took a few days. Things are being revealed here and I needed to make sure I got everything out that I needed to write and that it all made sense. 
> 
> Also, the song used here, "Break This Down" I don't own.
> 
> Enjoy!

Mal, Ben, Uma, Harry, Celia, and Chewbacca magically appeared in Audrey’s dorm room and Chewbacca laid Audrey down on her bed. Mal magically changed Audrey into more comfortable clothes. Ben looked at Chewbacca and said, “Thanks for everything today, Chewie. I need to change you back now that everyone is returning to normal.” Chewbacca roared a few times times saying in his language, “I understand. The crisis is over and your secret must be kept from the kingdom. I am just happy to stretch my legs.” Ben chuckled although Mal, Uma, Celia, and Harry did not understand what Chewbacca was saying. Ben walked up and gave Chewbacca a hug which the Wookiee gladly returned. Ben stepped back and chanted, “Wookiee to dog.” and Chewbacca became a dog again before everyone’s eyes. 

Suddenly Evie, Carlos, Jay, and Dude came charging into the room and Mal ran over and gave her friends a giant hug saying, “I am glad that you guys are alright.” She pulled away and Evie saw Audrey lying unconscious on her bed and walked over to her and knelt next to her. Carlos and Jay walked over to Ben and Carlos said, “Glad to see you’re alright and out of Audrey’s hands.” Jay gave Ben a pat on the shoulder as Ben chuckled. “Now,” Jay said. “Can someone fill us in on what happened after I was turned to stone?” Mal sighed and said, “We went to confront Audrey at Ben’s castle as she hid in his bedroom and I broke the curse Audrey put on Ben. Audrey captured Celia and Uma and I reignited the ember and I used it to stop Audrey’s magical attack. But the magic of the scepter reflected back onto Audrey and she is now in a magical coma. I can’t use the ember to wake her up. I don’t have access to its full powers.” 

She kneeled down next to Audrey as Evie commented, “She’s slipping away. She doesn’t have a true love as far as I am aware to wake her up.” Mal sighed and looked up at Ben and asked, “Is there anything you can do to wake her up?” Evie, Carlos, and Jay were confused at Mal’s question to Ben as Dude walked over and sat next to Chewie. Ben walked over and held his hand above Audrey’s head and closed his eyes, concentrating at trying to wake Audrey up. Evie, Carlos, and Jay’s eyes were wide as they were watching Ben do something they have never seen him do. Ben opened his eyes and looked at Mal and said, “She still had some Sith energy in her from the dark presence that was using the scepter to drain her of her darkness so I banished that. Physically, she’s perfectly healthy. I think this is a spiritual problem. My theory is when you used Hades’ ember to counteract her magical attack, the ember trapped her spirit inside her body in a slumber that is similar but different to the sleeping curse. Her spirit is buried deep within her. It would severely drain me or possibly kill me if I tried to pull her out. Only someone who has the power to control spirits can pull her soul out from its prison back to the surface so that she can wake up.” Evie, Carlos, and Jay looked at Ben in silence as they had no idea what Ben was talking about.

Mal sighed and said, “Then there’s only one person in the world who might be able to do something about this, and that’s Hades. It’s his ember, its full power works for him.” “Would he want to do it?” Ben asked. Mal nodded and said, “He might do it for me.” “Because he’s your father,” Ben said as everyone except Evie looked around at each other as they didn’t know that Hades was Mal’s father. Mal looked at Ben and said, “You’ve known. How long?” “Since we first met,” Ben answered. “When we shook hands, I saw memories from your past and I saw Hades leave you and your mother. That’s why you wanted to close the barrier, isn’t it? Because you didn’t want to let him out, because you are still mad at him for abandoning you.” Mal nodded and said, “Right you are. But when I got the ember from him today, we had a little chat and he cleared the air about some things that we need to talk about.” Ben nodded and said, “I’ll have to send guards to get him.” 

“Maybe I can hitch a ride,” Uma said. “The Isle is my home. Someone needs to be there to protect it.” Harry walked up to Uma and said, “Well, then, you will need your first mate.” Mal nodded to Uma and said, “The Isle will be in very good hands.” Celia got up from where she was sitting and asked, “Can I go, too? I wish I could be in both places.” Mal nodded as she stood up and said, “I really think that Evie was right. And, Uma, I do think that we could’ve been friends. And I’m really sorry that I lied to all of you guys. You deserved so much better than that.” Jay sighed and said, “You were just trying to do the right thing.” “Yeah,” Uma agreed. Evie stood up and looked at Mal and said, “I get it. I forgive you.” Mal smiled at Evie. Ben looked at Uma, Harry, and Celia and said, “I can arrange for you three along with Gil to be driven back while my guards go pick up Hades.”

“Hold up!” Everyone looked at Carlos, who had his hands in the air. “Sorry, I’ve been processing everything that has been said in this room since I entered it. I understand that Hades being Mal’s father is a revelation. I understand that these three want to go back to the Isle. What I don’t understand is you, Ben. What did you do when you went over to Audrey? What’s a Sith? What do you mean it could severely drain you if you tried to wake Audrey? What’s this dark presence you are talking about? What….” But before Carlos could rattle off more questions, Ben raised his hand to Carlos and froze him, shocking Evie and Jay. Ben walked over to Carlos and said, “Yeah, you three missed out on some things when you all were turned to stone. Now, I am going to let you go now. When I do, take a deep breath. I have a lot to explain.” Ben lowered his hand and unfroze Carlos, who took several deep breaths. Evie walked over to Ben and asked, “How did you do that?” Ben sighed and he said, “I need to tell you all some things. But not here. Let me take you all to a safe location where we can talk without being disturbed.” Ben closed his eyes and summoned the door to his secret room, shocking everyone around him. Ben looked to Chewie and Dude and said, “I need you two to guard Audrey while we are gone. And Dude, you are not to say anything about where we are if anyone comes in here.” Dude got a dazed look on his eyes and said, “I will not reveal where you guys are going.” Ben nodded and said to the others, “Follow me.” He opened the door to the secret room and everyone except the dogs followed him in, the door disappearing behind them.

Everyone was in awe at the spacious room Ben took them in. They saw advanced computers in one corner, a training arena, and a huge spaceship off in the distance. Ben turned to everyone and said, “This is my secret room. I come here a lot when I need to do things that no one else can know about. Before I go into my very long explanation, Evie, Carlos, Jay, there is something you all should know about Solo. He’s me. We are the same person.” Evie, Carlos, and Jay looked at each other as Jay said, “Um. No offense, Ben, but you two look nothing alike. I mean, yeah you are the king, but Solo is this tall guy who can summon things from far away…..” Ben summoned his lightsaber and ignited it, shocking Evie, Carlos, and Jay. Ben smirked and said in his Solo voice, “Do you believe me now?” Carlos nodded, but Evie asked, “How can that be? You two look nothing alike.” “That’s what I want to know,” Uma said. Ben sighed and said, “I guess I’ll have to show you. I can’t do this for very long as I am still regaining the energy I used up today.” 

Ben sat down and got into a meditative position and closed his eyes. Suddenly everyone saw a light come out of Ben’s body and it became Solo, who opened his eyes and said, “Now you all can see it. I am Solo and Ben. Solo is just the name I gave myself when I am in spirit form so that you guys wouldn’t figure out my secret.” “You said spirit,” Jay said. “Yes,” Solo said. “I am using a Force technique called astral projection to project my spirit out of my body. I can only do it for so long before I need to return to my vessel.” “But,” Evie asked, “Why does your spirit look like this?” “Because,” Solo answered. “This was what I looked like in my previous life.” “Previous life?” Harry asked. “Yes,” Solo said. “I was reborn here after I died in my first life.” “Then,” Uma asked. “Who were you in your previous life?” Solo stood tall and answered, “I was Benjamin Organa-Skywalker-Solo, or Ben Solo for short. But I also went under a different name, Kylo Ren, Master of the Knights of Ren, Supreme Leader of the First Order. I was born over a thousand years ago in a galaxy far away from this planet. I was reborn here as Prince Ben, son of King Adam and Queen Belle.” 

Everyone looked at Solo in awe as Solo merged back into his body and Ben opened his eyes and stood up. “Sorry,” Ben said. “Like I said, my energy isn’t back at full power yet so I can’t astral project for that long. But yes, I was just in spirit form, and that is what my spirit looks like.” “Why were you reborn here?” Harry asked. Before Ben could answer, Celia said, “To have a second chance at life. I had visions of you when you first picked me up from the Isle. I saw you in your old life, fighting off many things. But I also saw you sacrifice your life for someone else. Am I right?” 

Ben nodded and answered, “My first life was not a happy one. I was born to a princess of a destroyed planet and a smuggler and I was born with these powers that connected to the Force. It’s greater than any magic that exists here and is far older than even me. It’s an energy field that binds all things together as it was created by life so it resides in all life. Only some people have the power to control it. I am one of the last ones who can. My control with it is great. But ever since I could remember, I had a dark voice in my head feeding me lies and filling me with darkness. My parents couldn’t help me as they were always busy and they were partially afraid of me, mainly because of my legacy. You see, before I was born, the galaxy was under the control of the Empire and ruled by an evil man, Emperor Palpatine, who took the Old Republic and remade it into the Empire. He also destroyed a group of people known as the Jedi, who used the light side of the Force, as he used the dark side of the Force for he was also the leader of a group called the Sith. He had an apprentice called Darth Vader, who was very powerful and deadly, and was my grandfather. My mother, father, and uncle all helped destroy the Empire and my uncle helped my grandfather turn back to the light and helped destroy the Emperor, even though my grandfather died soon after. But somehow, Palpatine survived and used his power over the Force to contact me mentally and started to turn me to the dark side. My parents were scared of how powerful I was becoming so they sent me off to my uncle. I trained under him for a time, but my darkness was growing thanks to Palpatine, who used a pawn of his own called Snoke, to get inside my head. My uncle felt my darkness in my mind and under a moment of weakness, he wanted to kill me. But I stopped him before he could and ran away, destroying his temple and killing some of his students, taking others with me who also turned to the dark side. I went to Snoke and I became Kylo Ren. I became a master of the dark side of the Force and was Snoke’s commander in the newly created First Order. I was not a good man. I tortured innocents, even killed people with my bare hands. I killed my own father in cold blood when he tried to bring me home. I wanted to become my grandfather when he was still Darth Vader. After a decade of being Kylo Ren, I met my equal in the Force. Her name was Rey. She was part of a group called the Resistance and she slowly helped me see that I was wrong in my ways. We were connected through a bond that I can’t even begin to explain. We fought a lot, and we talked a lot as the Force would connect us from great distances. I wanted her to join me and become my Empress. I even cut down Snoke for her. But she was part of the light side of the Force and couldn’t. Overtime, we both realized that we were not light or dark. We were in the middle, together. After one fight where she nearly killed me then healed me, I realized the error of my ways and helped her defeat the revived Emperor. She died when she finished him off, so I gave my life energy to her so that she could live and I died. But then I was reborn here because this world was broken thanks to what King Adam did. And I want to redeem the person I was and become something better. And I hope that I have somewhat succeeded in that.” 

Ben took several deep breaths as everyone stared at him. Ben looked at them and realized, “You have questions. Ask away.” “So, were you a Sith?” Jay asked. “No,” Ben said. “I never fully went to the dark side as I still had light in me that I could never get rid of fully. But I was still on the dark side until right before I died.” “Why did you kill your dad?” Celia asked. Ben looked down and said, “Snoke always told me that I had too much of my father’s heart. He told me that if I killed him then my transition to the dark side would be complete. But that act was the worst thing I have ever done and is the act that still haunts me to this day. My heart was torn in two when I killed him. I didn’t hate my father, although he was never really there for me until right at the end. But now I have his blood on my hands and that will never go away.” Mal felt the sadness in him and knew that he was telling the truth and really did feel the guilt of killing his father in his past life. 

“So,” Uma finally said after a period of silence. “You had a dark voice in your head too. Like me and now Audrey. Do you know who this dark presence is that affected me and the pretty princess?” Ben shook his head and said, “I wish I did. Whoever this Sith presence is, he is good at masking himself. I can’t sense who he is. And it is killing me that I can’t stop him for good. Agathe warned me that he will return in the future. So I need to be on my guard. So do all of you now.”

“Is that the name of the woman who was on the roof of your castle?” Everyone turned to Mal as she finally spoke after some time staying silent. Ben nodded and said, “Yes. You all might know her by her other name: The Enchantress.” “The same Enchantress that cursed your father?” Evie asked. Ben nodded as Evie continued, “She was supposed to go over to the Isle but no one has been able to find her. Rumors say that King Adam wanted to send her over when she threatened him in front of the entire kingdom. Something about how the world would make him suffer because of his actions.” “You are correct in a sense,” Ben said. “Agathe was not happy about my father banning magic and sending all the villains to the Isle of the Lost. As well as forcing Hades to bring certain villains back from the dead just to imprison them there and my father threw Hades in along with them. So I understand why he hates me. Agathe warned my father that his actions would have dire consequences. My spirit arrived here about 3 years after that day. Agathe found me and told me the history of Auradon. She brought me outside of my family’s castle and told me what my father’s punishment was: not being able to have an heir to continue his legacy.” 

Everyone looked at Ben shocked as Carlos said, “But that can’t be. You are the heir.” Ben sighed and said, “When my spirit arrived here, my mother was pregnant with me, but the child was lacking a soul and was just a vessel. I had to make a choice. I could be reborn as the prince of Auradon by merging my soul with the vessel of the unborn child and bring this world back to where it should be, or do nothing and watch the king and queen suffer with a stillborn child and watch someone else become king and makes thing worse. Especially for those on the Isle. I chose to be reborn and have my spirit merge with the unborn child. Agathe split my memories and Force connection fro me and kept them on herself while she completed the spell to send my soul to the vessel. For 7 years, I had a regular childhood with no memory of my past and no Force powers. In a way, I had a better childhood than I did in my previous life. But when I was 5, I started having my memories return to me in the form of dreams. Agathe was calling me to her as it was time for me to reawaken and get my memories and powers back so that I can do what I was reborn to do: bring this world back into balance. On the day of my 7th birthday, I ran away when I found out about my betrothal to Audrey and I saw Agathe standing at the edge of the forest and I followed her. She gave me the choice of if I wanted my memories and powers back and I agreed. She returned them to me and she, along with spirits from my past, have guided me to achieve my destiny. Which one part of it is getting all those suffering on the Isle off of it.”

“So,” Harry said. “You really do want all of us to live in Auradon?” “Yes,” Ben said. “I am sorry that it is taking so long to do so, but I am trying to help Auradon see that you guys deserve to be here like everybody else. So I started small with just 4, and now I am working my way up to releasing more. And one day, everyone will be free. Except those who might want to destroy Auradon like some of your parents. No offense.” “None taken,” Jay said. 

“One last thing,” Evie said. “Have you always been the Ben that we know or is everything we know about you a lie?” “Evie,” Ben said. “I am still the boy king that you know and love. I’m the one who loves talking with you about the VK program. The one who loves going on walks with Carlos and our dogs. The one who likes kicking Jay’s butt at Swords and Shields.” “Hey!” Jay huffed. Ben laughed and said, “And the one who wants to give all of you and those suffering on the Isle a better life. I just have Force powers and have a previous life. I’m still me. Just not as tall as I use to be and I no longer have big ears and a big nose.” Everyone chuckled at that.

“Oh, laughter is good to hear.” Everyone turned to the voice and the VKs were shocked to see a gold metal man and a white and blue robot on wheels walk up to them. “Oh,” C-3PO said. “My apologies. I haven’t introduced myself. I am C-3PO. Human-cyborg relations. And this is my counterpart, R2-D2.” R2 beeped a few times as Ben explained, “Those two droids were companions of my parents a long time ago. I remade them when I was gifted this room by Agathe. Forgot to mention that.” Carlos went up to the two robots and said, “Wow. Actual robots. This is so cool.” “Is it?” C-3PO asked. “It’s actually quite warm in here if you ask me.” Carlos tilted his head in confusion and then said, “It’s just an expression. Ben, can I study them?” “If they are OK with it,” Ben said. “They are both highly intelligent so they do have feelings.” R2 beeped a few times in acknowledgment. 

Ben looked over at Mal, who was being silent and just observing everything. Ben sensed that Mal wanted to ask him more questions, but when they were alone. So he cleared his throat and said, “Why don’t we go back out so that I can arrange you three along with Gil a trip back to the Isle and have Hades brought here? I also need to contact my parents, Audrey’s family, and Fairy Godmother. Not to mention see if Jane and Doug are alright.” He summoned the door and everyone went through it back to Audrey’s room. Evie let Uma, Harry, and Celia along with Gil stay the night at her place so that Ben could make arrangements in the morning. They along with Carlos, Jay, and Dude went over to Evie’s place. 

Mal went with Ben back to his office at Auradon Prep and Ben summoned the door again to his secret room so that they could talk in private. Once inside, Ben turned to Mal and said, “I know there are things we still need to talk about. I know there is something that has been bothering you.” Mal sighed and said, “You said that you had dreams about your previous life a couple years before they and your powers were returned to you. I have been having dreams about your old life with the girl, Rey. Why am I having them? Am I a reborn soul like you? Am I Rey?” Ben sighed and said, “Yes. You’re having those dreams because they are your memories of your previous life. You are Rey. The scavenger from the desert planet Jakku and was my equal in the Force. You were reborn here just like I was.” Mal sighed and said, “That’s why my father called me Rey instead of Mal. He said it was my true name. Because it was my name in a previous life.” Ben nodded in agreement and said, “Being the god of the Underworld, he must have sensed that you were a reborn soul and knew what your true name was as he heard it. We have been connected for a very long time through the Force. We are a dyad in the Force, two that are one. That’s why we had dreams about each other in this life. Why we felt that spark ignite when we met face to face for the first time. Why I can sense you from far away and you could sense me whenever I was in trouble. We are a dyad reborn.”

Mal looked at Ben and said, “That’s why we’ve had dreams about each other?” Ben nodded as Mal continued, “Dyad. It feels right somehow. But why am I starting to get these dreams now about my old life?” “When you were on the Isle,” Ben answered. “The barrier not only kept magic out, but it also limited how much of the Force got through.” “I remember you mentioning that,” Mal said. “Well, you as Solo.” Ben chuckled and said, “You still want to call that part of me Solo? I can lengthen it to Ben Solo as that was my name in my previous life.” “No,” Mal said chuckling. “I like Solo. It fits that part of you. Like a secret identity.” 

Mal got serious again and asked, “Is that why I started getting them after I came to Auradon?” Ben nodded and said, “Yes. Your body had full access to the Force again so it could guide you. Like mine, your dreams started slow at first, then picked up little by little as the time for when the Force deems it necessary to return them to you is. Uma sending those nightmares to you messed things up a little in a way I was not expecting.” “Is that the decision Agathe was talking about?” Mal asked. “The choice of whether I want my memories and powers back?” “Yes,” Ben answered. “Like I said, I had to make the same choice when I was younger. You have to make the same decision when it is time. And Agathe says that it is coming soon.” 

Mal looked down and asked, “Why did you keep all of this from me? I know that I should have told you about these dreams sooner. But if you told me that you went through the same thing, then maybe I wouldn’t have run off to the Isle months ago. Maybe…” “Hey,” Ben said, kissing Mal’s forehead. “It’s OK. I wanted to tell you so many times, but Agathe told me not to until the Force deemed it time. I sensed that you were getting them, like you were having dreams about me at the lake like I was of you. And it hurt me that I couldn’t tell you anything. I hated seeing you suffer like that and I could do nothing. But now, I want you to know that I am here for you. I am putting everything in the open so that we can grow and become who we were destined to be. I am doing everything in my power to help your wish come true.” 

Mal looked up at Ben and asked, “Wish? What wish?” Ben sighed and said, “Remember when I told everyone that I sacrificed myself? Well, after the final battle with the dark Sith known as Palpatine, you died and I gave my life energy to you and I died instead. You lived for 10 more years, but because the dyad, meaning us, was split because of my death, you were slowly getting weaker and weaker because your soul wanted to rejoin with mine. So right before you died, you made a wish to the Force begging to have a second chance at a better life with me. That’s why we were both reborn here. So we could reunite in life and to have a happily ever after so to speak. Plus also help bring this world back into balance.” 

Mal closed her eyes to process what Ben said about her wish to be reborn in a new life. She knew that she had a big decision to make and she was scared about it. Mal looked up and asked, “What if I choose not to get my memories and powers back? What if I just want to keep being the person I always have been?” “It doesn’t matter to me,” Ben said. “When I got my memory and powers back, I will still the same person, things were just clearer to me and I could do cool stuff with the Force. You will still be you if you go through with this. You will still be the same VK that I fell in love with. I love the person you were and the person you are now. I love all of you, with all my heart.” 

Mal started to cry as she leaned up and gave Ben a passionate kiss, which he eagerly returned. When Mal pulled away, she said, “I need time to think about this.” “I respect that,” Ben said. “Agathe said that you don’t have to make the decision now. But know that it is coming soon when you have to. And I will respect whatever decision you make. OK?” Mal nodded, sighing that like with the beginning of their relationship, Ben was giving her time and not trying to put any pressure on her, which was one of the things she loved about him. “Even after this big revelation,” Mal thought. “He is still the King I fell in love with. Maybe that’s why I felt attracted to Solo in some strange way. Because some small part of my knew that he was Ben.” 

“I have one last question for the night,” Mal said. “There have been moments recently that I saw spirits around you. I recognize some of them from my dreams. Can I meet them?” Ben smiled and said, “Of course. I’ll bring them out.” Ben pulled away from Mal and closed his eyes. Suddenly seven balls of light came out of Ben and they formed into people next to Ben, one of them being a small green creature. Mal recognized Han Solo, Leia, and Luke Skywalker. “Hey, kid,” Han Solo said. “Nice to meet you finally in the flesh.” “Look how beautiful you are,” Leia said. “You always have been worthy of my son.” “Leia,” Luke said. “Give the girl a break. We are just introducing ourselves to her.” “I recognize you, Luke Skywalker,” Mal said. “Along with you two, Han Solo and Princess Leia.” Han Solo chuckled, “Told ya I liked her.” Anakin Skywalker stepped forward and said, “I am Anakin Skywalker, Ben’s grandfather. Pleasure to meet you in person.” “I am Padme, Ben’s grandmother,” Padme said. “I am Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin’s teacher along with Luke and Ben’s namesake in a way,” Obi-Wan said. “Yoda, I am. Jedi Master, I was. Pleased to meet you, I am,” Yoda said. “Pleasure to meet all of you,” Mal said. “So why are all of you hanging out in Ben’s body?” Ben chuckled and said, “They are my guides. They just chill out in my head and chime in or pop out every now and then. It’s more pleasant than having Palpatine in my head for all of my previous life. It was a little weird at first, but I got use to it.” “We are all looking forward to spending more time with you,” Luke said as the spirits disappeared back into Ben’s body. 

“That was weird but interesting,” Mal said. Ben chuckled and said, “Yeah, I understand that. Now, today has been a long day and I bet you want to get some rest before your father arrives tomorrow. I still need to make some calls. Do you want me to escort you back to Evie’s house?” Mal shook her head and said, “It’s OK. I can get there magically. I’ll see you in the morning.” They gave each other another kiss and Mal waved her hand, teleporting over to Evie’s house. Ben let out a huge breath and thought, “That took a lot out of me. It’s all out in the open now. I know that Mal will make the right choice. And it’s good to have some friends that will always have my back.”

The next morning, Uma, Harry, Gil, and Celia were driven back to the Isle with the guards as they needed to pick up Hades. Ben had contacted his parents and explained to them what happened and what he had to do. His father wasn’t too happy about Ben bringing Hades here, but Ben convinced him that Hades was the only person who could wake Audrey up. Fairy Godmother tried to see if she could do anything, but her magic had no effect on Audrey. Ben also contacted Audrey’s parents and they were horrified by the actions of their daughter. They are held up in Northern Wei so Queen Leah was the only one available to come see Audrey. Leah was not happy about the entire situation and had some denial about her granddaughter’s actions. And she still wasn’t a fan of having Mal around as Ben’s future queen. But she kept quiet and sat at her granddaughter’s bedside.

Ben, Mal, Adam, Belle, Leah, and Fairy Godmother waited in Audrey’s room for the guards to return with Hades. Adam heard a knock on the door and opened it, backing away as the guards brought Hades inside. The god had chains on his arms and legs so that he couldn’t escape. Mal walked forward and said, “Thank you for coming.” Hades scoffed and said, “Didn’t have much choice.” Ben walked forward and said, “Mal says that you are the only person who can wake her. She has faith in you. So do I. I know that you can wake her.” Hades stared at Ben and felt the aura the king was giving off. “Since when do heroes care about villains?” Hades asked. “I always have,” Ben said. “You are a citizen of this kingdom. Everyone on the Isle is. I called you here to help her. She’s…” “One of your own,” Hades interrupted. “Right. When you guys try to destroy the world, it’s an error in judgment. But when it’s one of us, lock them up and throw away the key. Right, Adam?” Ben walked right up to Hades and said, “I am not like the kings of the past. I am here to make things right. And I am asking you to help her. For the sake of your daughter.” Hades stared into Ben’s eyes and saw them glow gold for a second. Hades saw the old soul that was in the king and felt that Ben was telling the truth. “Glad to hear that someone will fix the mistakes of the past,” Hades thought. Adam looked at his son and was slightly shocked at Ben’s word. But he didn’t say anything. 

Hades held up his hands and said, “Yeah. I’m gonna need to use my hands.” Ben nodded to the guards and they freed Hades’ hands. The god held out one hand to Mal and Mal reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out the ember and handed it to him. Hades closed his eyes and his blue hair was on fire again. Hades smirked and said, “Haven’t lost my touch.” Hades turned right to Adam and started to growl, Adam growling as well. “Dad!” Mal shouted as Ben shouted, “Father! Enough!” Adam stepped back as Hades sighed and walked over to the bed. He closed his eyes and waved his hands around, blue glows appearing around the room. Ben could feel what Hades was doing, he was reaching into Audrey to bring her soul back to the surface. He could feel his own soul like it wanted to escape his vessel and used the Force to hold his soul in. Mal felt something similar happening to her and remembering what she just learned about herself, she remembered what Hades told her about the incident that happened when she was a baby and made Hades abandon her. 

Hades finished his task as Audrey rose and awakened much to everyone’s relief. “Audrey,” Leah said, tears in her eyes. “You’re OK.” Hades opened his eyes and stepped backwards, the fire in his hair dying down. Audrey looked over at Ben and Mal and said, “Tell me it was all a bad dream.” Ben sighed and said, “I wish I could. But, it’s over now.” Audrey started to get tears in her eyes and said, “I’m sorry. I wanted to hurt you both. I wanted to hurt all of you.” Mal walked forward and took Audrey’s hand saying, “I have owed you an apology for a very long time now.” Ben walked forward and said, “So have I.” Leah sighed and turned to Mal and reluctantly said, “And perhaps, I have owed you one, too.” Mal smiled at the old queen.

Adam motioned for the guards to take Hades, who scoffed, “Oh, yeah.” The guards escorted him out of the room and started to walk him down the hall when Mal ran out and shouted, “Dad!” Hades stopped and turned around with the guards holding onto his arms. Mal sighed and said, “I’m gonna have to miss you all over again.” Hades was shocked at Mal’s statement, relieved that she cares for him again. He smiled and said, “Thanks for a glimpse of the sun. You are, after all, my little Rey of sunshine.” Mal smiled and walked forward and gave Hades a kiss on the cheek. Hades smiled and turned around and handed Mal his ember as the guards escorted him away. Mal watched her father leave and she felt tears coming down her cheeks. Her father actually cared for her and that broke down all of her walls that she built up over the years to keep Hades out. She dried her eyes and put the ember back into her pocket. 

Mal walked back to Audrey’s room as Ben cleared his throat and said, “Can everyone leave the room? I want to talk to Audrey alone.” Everyone nodded and left the room, Leah more reluctant to do so but obliged. Ben nodded to Mal, who nodded back and closed the doors as she was the last one to leave the room. She knew that Ben needed closure with Audrey. She muttered a silence spell on the door so no one could listen in. She escorted everyone down the hall to a meeting room where everyone could wait.

Ben sighed and turned to Audrey and said, “Like I said, I owe you an apology. But I also owe you an explanation.” Audrey nodded in agreement and said, “So, you are definitely more that what you seem. You and Solo are one and the same?” Ben nodded and said, “I am a reborn soul, Audrey. My previous life was not a happy one and the source of my powers, called the Force, brought my soul here to be reborn as the heir to this kingdom. This world is unbalanced, Audrey. The Force brought me back to life to fix it. The ban on magic, the creation of the Isle, all of it.” “So,” Audrey said. “Who are you? Or who were you?” “Ben,” Ben answered. “Well, Ben was also my name in my previous life. Ben Solo. I was also known as Kylo Ren. I was someone who, like you yesterday, gave into the darkness in my heart and did terrible things. But unlike you, I have blood on my hands that will never go away. You think what you did yesterday was bad? It was child’s play to the things I did. I won’t go into the details, but I was not a good man for most of my previous life. But at the end I saw the error of my ways and tried to do good before I died. And now I have a second chance at life and I am trying to make things right. I’m not on the dark side anymore. But I am also not on the side of light. I am in the middle. The gray, so to speak.”

Audrey nodded as she took all the information in. “What about Mal?” Audrey asked. “How does she fit into all of this?” Ben smiled and said, “She’s my equal, my other half. In this life and my previous life. She is reborn like I was but just learned that yesterday. She has not fully reawakened like I have. Her memories and her connection to the Force have yet to be returned to her. They have to me. You were there on the day it happened.” Audrey thought for a moment then realized, “Your 7th birthday party. The day you ran into the forest.” Ben nodded and said, “I had just found out about our betrothal and I was livid. I had started getting dreams about my previous life and dreams about Mal. I already felt a connection with a girl I had never met face to face. So I ran. I followed a woman who appeared in my dreams telling me that it was time to regain what I had lost. You might know her as the Enchantress. She offered me the choice to either have my memories and Force connection returned or not and I chose to have them returned. I am still the same me you met all those years ago. I’m just more enlightened. And I still had the dreams of Mal leading up to when we met face to face. We instantly felt a connection when we shook hands on that first day. She was always meant to be with me, not you. She may have her flaws, but I love her despite them. You were trying to achieve something that you could never have. And let’s be honest, you were not the sweet little girl everyone thought you were.” 

Audrey sighed and said, “You’re right. I wasn’t. I really was a spoiled princess. My family, mainly my grandmother, wanted me on the throne with you. So I lied to my parents and yours about us getting along and connecting. I felt that I should have been your Queen. I loved the dates we went on and thought that you were connecting with me. But then the VKs showed up and I saw a different side of you. Looking back, I realize that you were showing who you really are. You put up an act with me for the sake of our parents. In reality, you never wanted the betrothal with me. Your heart already belonged to someone else. I was just so delusional about wanting the happy ending like my parents got that I was blind to everything.” Ben sighed and said, “I wasn’t honest with you, Audrey. I knew about the secret paragraph of the contract that stated how to break it. I was so involved in my love for Mal and my desire to break the contract that I didn’t take your feelings into account. For that, I am truly sorry.” Audrey nodded and said, “It’s OK. Seeing you now and knowing your whole story, I realize that I never knew the real you. Just the lie I told myself. We never would have worked as a royal couple. I can see now that we were never meant for each other. And I am OK with that.” Ben smiled and reached over and grabbed Audrey’s hand and said, “I wish you all the best, Audrey. I know that out there somewhere is a man who will truly make you happy. You just need to have faith.” 

Ben was about to leave when Audrey said, “That voice I heard that led me to stealing the crown and the scepter. Do you know who it was?” Ben turned back to Audrey and said, “I sensed that it was a Sith presence, meaning it is someone who uses the dark side of the Force. But he is good at masking his identity. And that scares me. He used you. He used Uma. And he is still out there somewhere. He drew darkness from you to himself. Maybe to gain power, I don’t know. But I will not rest until he is found and defeated once and for all. I can promise you that.” Ben then left the room as Audrey sat there and thought, “He’s going to be a good King.” 

The next week flew by for Ben and Mal. Ben became busy dealing with the repercussions on Audrey’s magical revenge and had to help the kingdom move on from the event. He had to reassure the council that the VK program was still a good project and that Audrey’s actions showed that even good people can do bad things. 

Mal spent most of the week to herself as she was processing everything that happened. She was thankful that she didn’t have many memory dreams that week and most of her dreams were about her and Ben. The occasional memory dream she did have was about her as Rey and Ben in their old life, but this time she heard Ben’s name be said. She noticed that herself as Rey never really called Ben Kylo Ren, always Ben. One dream ended with the even Ben told her about, his death. She saw Rey’s dead body and Ben Solo crawling to her in a dark cavern. She saw him close his eyes and put his hand over her stomach and give his life-force to Rey. She saw Rey open her eyes and whisper Ben’s name. She saw their two old selves have their first kiss. And then she saw Ben fall backwards and die, his body disappearing in the wind leaving only his clothes behind and the sad look on Rey’s face. Mal woke up that morning in tears realizing the sacrifice Ben made for her and felt the sadness her old self felt at that moment. She realized that a lot of her memories were sad. Did she really want all that pain again? She knew that she had to make a decision soon but felt relived that Ben and the Enchantress were giving her time to decide. She also thought about her father, Uma, and everyone else on the Isle. She knew that Ben wanted to free people from the Isle, but was this the way they should do it?

The day of the engagement party arrived. The party was at the alcove next to the old bridge that connected Auradon to the Isle. All the party guests were chatting to each other when Evie looked over and saw Ben and Mal coming toward them. “There they are,” Evie said. She, Carlos, and Jay were still processing everything Ben told them and even though they were a little hurt that Ben lied about his identity as Solo, they understood why he did and that he still was the same Ben they always knew. The King and his future Queen walked out from the tunnel with Ben wearing his royal suit and his crown while Mal wore a purple dragon print dress with a short purple cape and princess tiara. Everyone cheered as the royal couple came out and Ben and Mal waved to everyone. They walked through the crowd and up to the balcony looking out at the Isle where Adam, Belle, and Fairy Godmother were. Ben looked down at the crowd and said, “Lady Mal and I wanna thank you for celebrating our engagement with us today. I couldn’t be prouder or happier to call you my Queen. So, raise your glasses. To our future Queen of Auradon.” He raised his glass that he got from the side and everyone down below raised their glasses and shouted, “To our Queen of Auradon!” 

The crowd cheered as Mal looked down at the crowd with a smile, but a sad heart as something had been bothering her all week. “Speech, Your Special-ness,” Carlos called out. “Speech, Your Fancy One,” Jay called out. The crowd laughed and Mal laughed with them, but a sad one as she felt tears start to prick her eyes. Evie, Carlos, and Jay noticed the sad look on her face as well as Ben. He looked over at her with concerned eyes as Mal said, “I can’t. I can’t be Queen of Auradon.” The crowd gasped as Ben whispered, “Mal.” 

Mal turned to Ben and whispered, “I’ve been thinking a lot about everything that’s happened. But this has nothing to do with what you revealed to me and the choice that I must make. This is about the Isle. I can’t turn my back on that place. I have to correct the mistake I made.” Ben nodded as Mal turned back to the crowd and said, “We made a decision to close the barrier forever. And it was my idea. But it’s wrong. I’ve learned that you can’t live in fear because it doesn’t actually protect you from anything. You never know where the bad is gonna come from. And you never know where the heroes are gonna come from either. Without Uma and her pirates, Auradon would be gone. And without Hades, my father, Audrey would be gone. We are all capable of good and bad, no matter which side of the barrier we come from. And that’s why I can’t be Queen of just Auradon. I have to be Queen of the Isle, too. And it’s time that we take the barrier down forever.” 

Ben’s eyes lit up and he got a big smile on his face. Mal wanted to take down the barrier forever. One part of his destiny was about to be achieved. Sure there was going to be a lot on his plate with handling the transition of the people on the Isle to live in Auradon and assess those originally imprisoned there, but right now, he was happy that Mal wanted to do this. Sure it was a little bit fast, but right now, he didn’t care. 

“We can’t do that,” Adam said. Ben turned to his dad and said, “It’s up to us, Dad.” Ben looked back at Mal and gave her a nod, Mal smiling back at him. He looked out at the crowd and said, “I choose to be a King who moves forward. It’s time for forgiveness. It’s time for new beginnings. The barrier will come down!” “Yes!” Carlos cheered a little too loudly making the crowd laugh. Ben looked over at Mal and said, “Bring it down, Mal.” Mal looked up at Ben and said, “Only if you do it with me.” The crowd clapped and cheered. Even Queen Leah, despite her feelings. Even Chad, despite the fact that he still wasn’t a fan of the VKs. But Audrey was one of the loudest cheerers as she was now a big fan of the VKs after seeing the light.

Mal motioned for Evie, Carlos, and Jay to join her and Ben on the balcony. Fairy Godmother gave her the wand and Mal held Ben’s hand while Evie, Carlos and Jay gathered around them. Mal and Ben stared out to the Isle and all five chanted, “To make the world a better place, we have to do it face to face.” Mal waved the wand and the magic destroyed the barrier and made the clouds above the Isle disappear. The bridge magically reconstructed itself so that the Isle and Auradon were connected again. The crowd cheered as Mal, Ben, Evie, Carlos, and Jay shed silent tears for this happy moment.

Over on the Isle, people were coming out and surprised to see sunshine for the first time in a long time. For some people, the first time they’ve ever seen the sun. Uma, Celia, Harry, and Gil saw the barrier disappear and were surprised at what happened. Uma realized what happened and muttered, “My plan.” The Isle citizens cheered at their freedom. 

Back in Auradon, Mal handed Fairy Godmother back her wand and walked back to the balcony that overlooked the Isle. Ben walked up next to her and held her hand. Mal felt a song come into her heart as she and the rest of the people of Auradon and the Isle started to sing and dance in celebration,

_(Mal)_

_It’s time to bring it together_

_Time for a brand new start_

_(Uma)_

_We’re gonna put it in motion_

_Break down what keeps us apart_

_(Mal)_

_No more no division we down_

_New team got the vision_

_(Uma)_

_Unite till we stand_

_Now we living marching_

_In the light, one, two_

_One, two, like_

_(Mal)_

_I see you_

_(Uma)_

_You see me_

_(Mal)_

_Imperfect_

_(Uma)_

_Perfectly_

_(Mal and Uma)_

_Face to face we can see_

_Clearly our similarities like_

_(Uma)_

_Day and night_

_(Mal)_

_Wrong or right_

_(Uma)_

_We come together_

_For a good time_

_(Mal, Ben, Evie, Carlos, Jay)_

_We’re gonna break this down_

_We’re gonna rock the town_

_Everyone all around_

_Let’s be whoever like this_

_Stronger together like this_

_(Uma)_

_Believing in second chances_

_(Celia)_

_And we’re all starting today_

_(Harry)_

_Marching on in a new land_

_(Uma, Celia, Harry, Gil)_

_Our world’s a better_

_A better place_

_(Evie)_

_Welcome the additional love_

_(Carlos)_

_Unite new beginnings for us_

_(Jay)_

_Harmony that’s the mission marching_

_(Everyone)_

_In the light, one, two_

_One, two like_

_I see you, you see me_

_Imperfect, perfectly_

_Face to face we can see_

_Clearly our similarities like_

_Day and night_

_Wrong or right_

_We come together_

_For a good time_

_We’re gonna break this down_

_We’re gonna rock the town_

_Everyone all around_

_Just be whoever like this_

_Stronger together like this_

_Bringing it, bringing it_

_Bri-bri-bringing it down_

_Bringing it, bringing it_

_Bri-bri-bringing it down_

_Bringing it, bringing it_

_Bri-bri-bringing it down_

_Bringing it, bringing it_

_Bri-bri-bringing it down_

_We’re gonna break this down_

_We’re gonna rock the town_

_Everyone all around_

_Just be whoever like this_

_Stronger together like this_

_We reunited like this_

_We’re gonna break this down_

_We’re gonna rock the town_

_Everyone all around_

_Just be whoever like this_

_Stronger together like this_

_We reunited like this_

_Bringing it, bringing it_

_Bri-bri-bringing it down ___

__As the citizens of the Isle, led by Uma, walked across the bridge, Ben and the citizens of Auradon bowed to them, welcoming them to Auradon. Everyone cheered and the party went into full swing. Uma hugged Mal, thanking her for what she did. Dr. Facillier, Lady Termaine, and Smee walked over the bridge and looked back at the Isle, happy that they were finally free as Celia, Dizzy, Squeaky, and Squirmy ran over and gave them hugs._ _

__Jane pulled Carlos over and said, “Carlos? I’m actually really nervous to meet your mom.” Dude walked over and said, “You’re nervous? His mom is Cruella De Vil! I’m petrified.” Carlos chuckled and said, “Wait until she hears I want to be a vet.”_ _

__Jay met up with Gil and said, “What do you say you and me go exploring? During the rest of summer vacation and on breaks? Jungles or icebergs?” “Both?” Gil suggested. Both boys cheered and gave each other a chest bump._ _

__Evie and Uma were dancing next to each other and Uma looked over at Mal, who was standing with some Isle kids along with Ben, and told Evie, “You know what? Mal came through.” “She always does,” Evie said. Harry got in between the girls and said, “So, she’s definitely taken.” “Definitely,” Evie said. Doug leaned over and said, “So is Evie.” Uma hit Harry on the chest and said, “What’s my name?” “Uma,” Harry said. He leaned down to kiss her, but Uma backed away and walked off along with Evie and Doug. Harry stood there awkwardly until Audrey accidentally bumped into him. “Hi,” they both said at the same time. Audrey looked into Harry’s eyes and saw them glow. “Could it be?” Audrey thought. “He is definitely cute.” She grabbed Harry by the arm and pulled him into the dance floor, much to Harry’s amusement._ _

__Hades walked across the bridge and stopped a few feet in front of Mal and Ben and asked, “Am I invited to the wedding?” Mal and Ben turned to Hades and Ben said, “Uh. Hello, Hades, Dad, Sir.” Mal chuckled and walked over and gave Hades a hug. Hades smiled and whispered into Mal’s ears, “I knew you would be the one to free all of us, my Rey of sunshine.” He pulled away from Mal and said to Ben, “I’m sure you two will be very happy together.” Mal smiled and walked over and hugged Ben. Ben looked at Hades, who dropped his smile and pointed his fingers at Ben and gave him a “I’m watching you” look. Ben’s eyes glowed gold and sent a mental note to Hades, “I know. I won’t let you down.” Hades seemed shocked at what Ben was able to do and knew that he needed to talk with his future son in law. Mal pulled away and took her father’s hand. Ben said, “Welcome to Auradon.” as he put his hand on Hades’ back, which made the god give a stern look to Ben, and Ben pulled his hand away. Mal led Hades through the crowd and Ben thought, “I hope you’re watching, Agathe, Part of your wish has come true. This world is getting much closer now to having the balance it needs. We’re almost there.”_ _

__Elsewhere deep in a dark forest, a dark void opened and out stepped a dark spirit in a black cloak. “Finally,” the dark figure said. “After absorbing darkness and power from those two pawns, I am free. I am in the world of the living again. Uma and Audrey played their parts.” As the dark figure walked around, life around him decayed and turned to ash. The dark figure let out an evil laugh and said, “Soon my plans will come into fruition. But first, this form is unstable. I used up most of my power to come here from the world between worlds. I need to find a vessel as I need to gain more power to gain a body of my own. After that, I will destroy the last Skywalker and find my granddaughter and destroy her too, wherever she is hiding. Then I will unleash a new army and make this planet my new base to rule the galaxy. The time is coming for the one true Emperor to rise again. And no one, not even the dyad, can stop me!”_ _


	32. Calm Before the Storm

The next few months were busy to say the least. Because the barrier came down, Ben had to deal with every citizen of the Isle of the Lost and figure out how to smoothly transition them into Auradon. Mal and the rest of the VKs were a big help with that. Mal, with a little help from her magic, created homes for the VKs in Auradon if they didn’t want to stay on the Isle or be with their parents. Auradon Prep and the other schools in Auradon had to accommodate for the large number of VK kids coming in for the new school year so additional dorms and classrooms were built. Other kingdoms outside the capital city offered to house VKs so that Auradon Prep wasn’t too filled up. So the Core 4 along with Uma got together and broke down who was going where. 

As for the villains originally banished to the Isle, Ben and the council had to interview every villain to determine if they should still be imprisoned or they should be free. Some villains, like Lady Tremaine, Smee, Dr. Facillier, and even Hades were freed but had to stay under supervision for a year to see if they truly changed. But others, like Evil Queen, Cruella De Vil, Jafar, Captain Hook, Ursula, and Gaston, still had some evil in them and were sent back to the Isle under a magical “house arrest” where there was a barrier around their homes and they were closely monitored. All the kids had to be interviewed as well, which Mal, Evie, Carlos, Jay, and Uma helped with. Most kids were free to live in Auradon, but some had evil intentions and had to go back to the Isle, of which they were actually fine with. 

All the new VKs had to take Remedial Goodness from Fairy Godmother, which some of them were not happy about. Even Uma had to take it despite her helping Mal defeat Audrey. At least Uma got to stay in one of the dorms with a fancy bed like Audrey’s, which Uma loved. 

Jay became captain of the tourney team that fall as like with Swords and Shields, Ben had no time to do sports anymore. Jay easily got Gil to try out for the team, but it was harder to convince Harry to join. But after some pushing, Harry tried out and actually really liked the sport, especially since he could tackle the players a lot. Jay did do some traveling with Gil during the rest of summer break and fall break where they saw jungles, icebergs, and so much more.

Jay also liked the fact that Lonnie moved back after summer break and had to fill her in on what she missed over the summer. She wasn’t surprised that Audrey did what she did as she always thought Audrey was a spoiled princess that had a devious side to her. Jay obviously didn’t tell her Ben’s secret as Ben actually didn’t tell Doug or Jane either as Ben only told them because they were more observant. 

Carlos was working hard at his schoolwork senior year as he wanted to get into vet school. His relationship with Jane was developing nicely as the two always went on dates and their love grew and grew. Jane was debating whether or not she should go to fairy school after she graduated or go to university with Carlos. Carlos never pressured her, and Jane was thankful for that. 

Evie’s business really took off and she was glad that Doug was there every step of the way. She was happy that they finally both told each other that they loved each other. Doug’s family was becoming more accepting of her which Evie appreciated. Doug handled all of Evie’s finances and if Evie continued to be successful throughout senior year with her business, that castle she always wanted was hers.

As for Mal, she was getting busy along with Ben about the transition of the VKs to Auradon and the handling of the villains. She did go back to her old hideout and found her lizard mom in the box she put her in a few days after Cotillion and put her back into the cage in her dorm room. Her mother was still the same little lizard so that meant her love was not growing at all. Mal understood that not all the villains would reform after their time on the Isle even though it hurt to think about. Hades helped her through that pain, even though he found it amusing that his ex-wife was a lizard.

Speaking of Hades, a few days after the breaking of the barrier, he came to see Ben and Mal at Ben’s castle to visit, but Ben knew that Hades wanted to talk about Ben’s secret. And Hades wanted to talk with Ben alone. Hades met Ben in a private meeting room and Mal sat outside the door, putting her silence spell on it. Hades turned to Ben once that was done and said, “So, future son in law. Let’s have a man to man talk.” Ben nodded and said, “Ok. What….” “Hold on,” Hades stopped him. “I don’t want to talk to you through your vessel. I want to talk to the real you. The actual soul that I know doesn’t look like your vessel.” Ben sighed and sat down in a chair and meditated. Soon enough, his spirit rose out of his body and Solo stood right in front of Hades, dark gray robes and all. 

“Here I am,” Solo said in his deep voice. “Ah,” Hades said. “There you are. The reborn soul I felt all those years ago on the day my daughter was born. Now, who do I have the pleasure of talking to? Who were you before you were reborn as Prince Ben of Auradon?” “Benjamin Organa Skywalker Solo,” Solo answered. “Also known as Kylo Ren, Master of the Knights of Ren, Supreme Leader of the First Order.” “Hmm,” Hades said. “The name Skywalker does sound familiar. Oh yes, stories of the Skywalker family has reached the ears of the gods. I heard it ended millennia ago.” “It did,” Solo said. “I was not a good man. In a way, I was a villain. I have blood on my hands that will never go away. I have done things that will haunt me forever. But I was reborn here to help correct the mistakes previous generations have made. That includes what my father did to you, Hades.” Hades tilted his head and said, “You’re serious? You’re against what your father did to me? To all those villains?” Solo nodded and said, “What my father did was wrong. The ban on magic and the creation of the Isle messed with the order of this world. I was brought here to help bring balance to it again.” 

“Agathe’s been helping you, hasn’t she?” Hades asked. Solo nodded and Hades chuckled, “I figured she had something to do with this. Her magical aura is around you as I sense she was the one to help you be reborn in the first place. She was the biggest rival against what your father did. I knew that she would never be caught. She’s too sneaky. How is she, by the way?” “Good,” Solo said. “As far as I know. She only shows up when she wants to.” Hades laughed and said, “That sounds like her.” 

Hades got a serious look and asked, “What about my daughter? How does she fit into all of this? Who was she in her original life? I know she was a reborn soul. I sensed it when I held her in my arms for the first time. Please. Tell me.” Solo sighed and said, “Her name was Rey, like you always call her. She was a scavenger who came into my world through chance. She grew up on the planet of Jakku after being abandoned there by her parents to protect her from her evil grandfather, Emperor Palpatine, and grew up all alone. Then through certain events, she joined a rebel group called the Resistance and was my equal in the Force, where I get my power from. We are a dyad in the Force, two that are one. I died sacrificing my life in exchange for hers. But she died 10 years later as her body was getting weaker as her soul wanted to reunite with mine. Right before she died, she made a wish where she wanted a second chance at life with me. So both of our souls were brought here. She was reborn as Mal.”

Hades thought for a moment then asked, “Does she know any of this?” Solo nodded and said, “Yes, but she hasn’t gotten her memories or her Force connection back yet. She has to make that choice. I made it over 10 years ago, hence why I can do what I can do. I am not forcing her in any direction, I am allowing her to make the choice on her own. But she has to make it soon, as the Force deems it time.” Hades nodded and said, “I love my daughter more than you can understand. I left her after an accident when she was a baby. She got a hold of my ember and it almost sucked her soul out as she didn’t know how to use it and she was only half me. I hated the fact that I left her, but I thought it was for her own good. And so she didn’t grow up soft as she needed to be tough in order to survive on the Isle. Thank you for helping her with everything and being there when I couldn’t. I will help the both of you in any way that I can. But that doesn’t mean I’ll go soft on you.” Solo nodded and said, “I understand.” 

Solo merged back with his body and Ben opened his eyes and stood up. Hades turned to walk out of the room, then stopped and said, “You know, since you are a reborn soul, there is a technique you can do so you don’t have to do…whatever you just did.” “Astral projection,” Ben said. “That,” Hades replied. “You can bring your soul out but have it as your vessel instead of your new one. The magic of this world can help you do that. And it doesn't use up energy like your astral projection does.” “Really?” Ben asked. Hades nodded and said, “Indeed. Just closed your eyes, put your hand over your heart, and think about what you want to do. And it will happen.” Ben closed his eyes and put his hand over his heart. Suddenly a gold mist surrounded Ben. When it disappeared, it was Ben Solo standing in front of Hades. Ben opened his eyes and looked down saying in his old deep voice, “It worked.” Hades smirked and said, “Told ya. Now since we are about to leave, you might want to change back.” Ben nodded and did actually that, King Ben now back after a few moments. 

Ben did show Mal the technique Hades taught him and Mal was impressed that Ben could do some actual magic. She asked if she could do the same, but Ben suspected that she could only do it after she recovered her old memories and Force connection. 

Speaking of which, Mal was still trying to decide what choice she wanted to make regarding that. Yes her dreams weren't as frequent anymore since she found out Ben’s secret. But every so often, she would have Agathe appear in her dreams and tell her that the time was coming for her to make a choice. Even though Ben told her that she would still be the same person after the process, Mal was still scared that she would be giving up a part of herself. She was grateful that Ben was not pressuring her and only talked about it when Mal wanted to. And luckily court life kept her busy. As well as wedding planning.

Talking about weddings, Evie and Belle were really involved in helping Mal plan her wedding with Ben. A little too involved if Mal had anything to say about it. Some days Mal had to excuse herself because it was all getting a little too much for her. Luckily Ben sensed those moments and found ways to sneak out of his meetings to come talk with her and help calm her down, which Mal appreciated. 

On New Year’s Eve, Ben and Mal hosted a ball for the entire kingdom of Auradon. Normally this ball would be on Christmas Eve, but Ben and Mal wanted to have a quiet Christmas so they pushed the ball back a week. Evie had many dress orders which helped her business plenty, and she had her true love, Doug, by her side. Carlos of course invited Jane to the ball and Jay invited Lonnie. 

Audrey secretly invited Harry as the two were seeing each other off and on as they felt their connection but Harry was scared about dating and Audrey knew that her parents weren’t going to be fans of Harry. So they decided to come alone and met up at the ball. Chad had tried to ask Audrey to be his date, but Audrey declined without giving a reason why. 

Audrey stood in a corner of the ballroom as trumpets blared and Ben and Mal came in down the main staircase. She smiled at the royal couple and thought, “They truly deserve each other. I’ve never seen Ben this happy. He was right. Him and Mal were always meant to be together.” 

She felt someone grab her arm and she turned to find Chad standing there. “Hello, Audrey,” Chad said. “Why are you standing here all by your lonesome?” Audrey pulled her arm away and said, “Just because. Now if you please excuse me.” She tried to walk away, but Chad pulled her back and said, “Come on, Audrey. Spend some time with me. Like we used to. It’s almost midnight. New Year’s kiss.” “No thank you, Chad,” Audrey said, getting irritated. “But we like each other,” Chad argued. Audrey shook her head and said, “No, Chad. You are just a friend. A rebound for when Ben broke up with me. After everything that happened, I realized that I need to move on and find my own true love. And you are not it. Please realize that.” “But,” Chad whined. “We’re meant to be together. I love you.” “No,” Audrey said. “You don’t. Because I don’t love you. Now, please, let me go.” Chad grabbed her arm roughly and whispered, “Never!” Audrey tried to pull her arm away, but Chad was surprisingly strong.

Suddenly a hook landed on Chad’s shoulder and that caused Chad to let go of Audrey. Chad turned around and saw Harry standing there, looking nice for once. Harry glared at Chad and said, “I think the lady asked you to let go.” Chad backed away a little in fear as Harry turned and asked, “Are you alright? Did he hurt you?” Audrey shook her head no as Harry examined her arm and caressed it lovingly. Chad noticed this and said, “Him? You chose him?” Harry looked back at Chad with anger, but Audrey surprised both boys and said, “Yes. I chose him. We have a connection that you will never understand. Now, please leave us be or he’ll hook you.” Harry was surprised by Audrey’s words, but raised his hook up to Chad for good measure and Chad quickly walked away.

Harry looked back at Audrey and asked, “Do you really mean that?” Audrey nodded and gave him a quick peck on the lips and said, “I do.” Harry smiled and gave Audrey a peck back. He then bowed and said, “Can I have this dance?” Audrey chuckled and said, “Of course.” Harry smirked and said, “Now hopefully those lessons I took with Gil will help me be good at this.” 

Ben got everyone’s attention from the center of the ballroom and he shouted, “I wanted to thank you all for coming tonight to celebrate the start of a new year. And I know this next year will be brighter than ever. As this year I will be married to the love of my life and Auradon will have a new Queen!” Everyone cheered as Ben continued, “Now midnight is only 30 seconds away, so everyone count with me.” Everyone counted down to zero and shouts of “Happy New Year!” rang out all around the ballroom. Ben pulled Mal in for a passionate kiss and he wasn’t the only one to do so. Doug kissed Evie, Carlos kissed Jane, Jay kissed Lonnie, and Harry kissed Audrey.

Chad stood near the entrance feeling depressed. He saw all the love in the room but the one that hurts him is seeing Audrey kiss that villain. Not wanting to see it anymore, he turned around and ran into the cold night. Snow was starting to fall but Chad didn’t care. He ran into the forest, not caring which direction he was going in. He ran until his feet hurt and he fell to the ground, sobbing. He felt like he lost everything. He thought about Ben and how he seemed to have everything he wanted. He wished that he was Ben, being the King, marrying the girl of his dreams, getting everything he wanted. He thought about Audrey kissing Harry and that made his heart break and he started to sing a short ballad, 

_Don’t wish, don’t start_

_Wishing only wounds the heart_

_There’s a boy I know_

_She loves him so_

_I’m not that boy ___

__Chad sobbed to himself when suddenly he heard a voice chuckling behind him. He turned around and saw a dark figure in a cloak, Palpatine, standing there. Chad got up in a hurry as the dark figure said, “Don’t be afraid, my boy. I am not here to harm you. I have come to help you. I can see your heart. You want what the king has. And I can give it to you.” Chad started to back away as some thoughts of clarity filled his mind, realizing that yes he’s hurt but knows that even though he was jealous of Ben that Ben deserves to be king and that Audrey is right no matter how much the truth hurt. Chad glared at Palpatine and said, “I do want what the king has. But I also know that I shouldn't trust dark people like you.” Palpatine sighed and said, “You know, for a dimwit like yourself, you can be annoyingly clever.”_ _

__He raised his hand and Chad flew into a nearby tree and was frozen there. Chad couldn’t move as Palpatine chuckled evilly. Chad realized he heard this voice before when he was around Audrey when she was talking to herself during her revenge scheme and shouted, “You! You were the one who helped Audrey with her revenge plan months ago! You made her lock me in that closet!” Palpatine laughed and said, “Very good. You do have some brains in there after all. It seems your sorrows haven’t clouded your mind like I thought they would. No matter. You refuse to to this the easy way, so we’ll do this the hard way.” Palpatine’s form flickered a bit, which Chad noticed and asked, “What are you? Are you a ghost?” “A spirit,” Palpatine answered. “I cannot stay in this form. I need my body back. But for now, I need a vessel so I can gain strength. And you will do just fine.”_ _

__Palpatine then flew right into Chad’s body as the prince screamed, “No!” but Chad couldn’t stop the dark spirit from possessing him. Chad struggled as Palpatine’s face superimposed over Chad’s for a second and Chad slumped down to the ground._ _

__A few seconds later, Chad stood up chuckling in Palpatine’s voice. “It worked,” Chad-Palpatine said, examining his new vessel. “I have complete control over this vessel. And the boy’s spirit is locked away in his own mind. I can feel my power starting to grow. Now it is time to start my plan,” He knelt to the ground and sent dark power through it, where it could slowly grow. “Good,” Chad-Palpatine said. “My armada will grow in time. But first, I must get rid of the last Skywalker. I will spread my darkness throughout this world and its people. Everything will turn against the king and I will be crowned Emperor again. He will watch as everything that he worked hard for will be destroyed in front of him. And I will find out where my granddaughter’s spirit is hiding and destroy it before the dyad can be reformed. The Sith will rise again and I will reclaim the galaxy and beyond!” He laughed evilly as he walked away, darkness spreading in his wake._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh. Bad things are coming Ben and Mal's way. 
> 
> I will be taking a little holiday break from writing so that I can enjoy the holidays. Maybe the next chapter will come out before the new year starts, maybe not. But it will happen, I can promise you that. 
> 
> Also the song I used was the reprise of "I'm Not That Girl" from Wicked, which I don't own.
> 
> Happy Holidays everybody! See you later.


	33. Darkness Creeps In

The next morning, on New Year’s Day, Ben woke up after having a dark nightmare, where he was standing alone in darkness and he felt a dark presence in there with him. All Ben heard was an evil laugh, a laugh that he was familiar with. That caused Ben to wake up and all the Force spirits were looking at him. Ben looked at them and asked, “You all felt that?” The Force spirits nodded and Luke said, “Indeed. That dark presence felt familiar. I think I know who that was.” “Palpatine,” Anakin said. “I know that laugh anywhere.” “Could he be the one behind Uma and Audrey’s revenge schemes?” Han asked. “Maybe,” Leia said. “But he is masking himself so we can’t be sure. But this dream of yours, Ben, must be trying to warn us that something is coming, like Agathe warned.” “Your mother is right,” Obi-Wan said. “The Force is warning you that something is here, and you need to find it and defeat it.” “But,” Ben said. “Can I defeat it on my own? What about Mal?” “Her memories and Force connection,” Yoda answered. “Returned they must be. Only then can you defeat this darkness with her help.” “Do you know what her decision is yet?” Padme asked. Ben shook his head and said, “No, I don’t. I want her to make the choice on her own. No pressure. But I want her to get her memories and Force connection back. But it’s not my choice. Until then, I will search for this darkness and defend this kingdom from it anyway I can.” The Force spirits nodded and disappeared back into Ben’s body. Ben got out of bed, Chewie following behind him, as Ben went into his closet to change. 

His phone beeped and it was from Lumiere, telling him that last night went great and that preparations for tonight’s New Years Address in the throne room were underway. The address was not going to be as formal as the ball the previous night, but everyone who was there the night before was to come back and listen to the speech Ben and Mal had to give. Ben looked over and saw the notes for his speech on his desk. After he got dressed, he picked up those notes and ran out of his room.

Mal awoke from a similar dream, where like Ben, she was in a dark void and heard evil laughter ringing in her ears. She immediately thought of Ben as she felt that he probably had the same dream. Knowing that she had to get to Ben’s castle immediately, Mal got out of bed and went to her closet to change. She was still staying at Evie’s house during the winter break and she ran out the door without saying hello to Evie, Carlos, or Jay. Her three friends were shocked at Mal’s actions but Jay said, “Maybe she forgot that she had to do something and was in a hurry. We can ask her later.” Evie and Carlos nodded in agreement. 

Mal transformed into a dragon so that she could fly to Ben’s castle, forgetting that she could have just teleported herself there. She landed at the front and transformed back into herself and ran inside. She ran past the throne room, which had staff members taking down decorations from last night and putting new ones up to the New Years Address that she and Ben were to give later in the day. She found Ben walking towards his dad’s office and ran right up to him and gave him a hug, which Ben gladly returned. Ben pulled away and said, “Someone is happy to see me this morning.” Mal nodded and said, “I always am. But I wanted to talk to you. About this dream I had.” Ben got serious and whispered, “After this morning’s meeting, we’ll talk. Did you bring your notes for our speech tonight?” “Oops,” Mal said. “In my hurry, I forgot.” Ben smiled and said, “We can go back to Evie’s place to pick them up later. Ben grabbed Mal’s hand and they walked to his dad’s office, where Adam and Belle were waiting. 

“Hey, you two,” Adam greeted. Belle walked over and Ben gave his mother a kiss on the cheek. “So,” Belle said. “How do you two feel last night went?” “The ball went very well,” Ben said. “Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. No problems came up.” “Actually,” Adam said. “We got a call from Chad’s parents this morning. He went missing just after midnight and guards found him lying outside the forest surrounding the castle. He’s in a coma.” Ben and Mal looked at each other, then back at Adam. “Where is he now?” Ben asked. “At his family’s castle,” Belle said. “Fairy Godmother is with his parents. They don’t want visitors right now. Maybe when he’s awake they’ll let you visit him.” Ben and Mal nodded and Ben asked, “Anything else?” Adam shook his head no and said, “Not for right now. I know you two have meetings today and you need to finish preparing for tonight’s address so we’ll let you go.” Ben grabbed Mal’s hand and pulled her out of the room.

Ben dragged Mal into his own office and closed the door behind him. He then summoned the door to his secret room and led Mal inside. Once inside, Mal turned to Ben and said, “Something’s bothering you. What is it?” Ben sighed and said, “I had a dream last night. About the dark presence that affected both Uma and Audrey. I think he’s the darkness Agathe referred to. He may be coming back in some way.” “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” Mal said. “I had a dream last night where I was in a dark void and I heard an evil laugh. Could that have been him?” Ben nodded and said, “I had that exact same dream. And I recognized the laugh. I think he is the Emperor that I told you about.” “Him?” Mal asked. “The Emperor who created Snoke and was a voice in your head for most of your previous life?” 

Ben nodded and said, “Yes. I think he somehow found a way to come here. Why can’t he just be gone for good?” Ben started to pace and Mal said, “Ben, it’s OK. You defeated him once, you can just do it again.” Ben stopped and turned to Mal and said, “That’s just it. I wasn’t the one to defeat him last time. Remember, that was you. Well, the old you. I was sent down a large ditch. By the time I reached you, Palpatine was gone and I had to bring you back to life.” “Sorry,” Mal said. “I forgot. Plus, my memory dreams haven’t shown me anything about that except you dying.” 

Ben sighed and said, “I know. I’m sorry. It’s just, Mal, he is an evil man. You think the villains here are bad. They are mellow compared to him. He took over the entire Old Republic to become Emperor while doing Sith things on the side. He created an army out of clones and created an Empire where war always raged. He created a giant planet killer called the Death Star, twice, that destroyed the home planet of my mother’s adopted parents and my parents and uncle had to destroy it both times. Not to mention he is the same man that manipulated my grandfather into becoming Darth Vader which led to my grandmother’s death and my mother and uncle being separated for the first 25 years of their lives. Darth Vader, the man who kidnapped his daughter and made her watch as her planet was destroyed, the man who cut off my uncle’s hand in combat….” “Hey!” Anakin shouted in Ben’s head making Ben wince. “Sorry,” Ben said. “My grandfather took offense to that. Mental fight. Anyway, my grandfather threw Palpatine down a long shaft and somehow that didn’t fully end him. He made clones of himself so he could transfer his spirit. He then found out about my existence and under the guise of Snoke, mentally abused me through lies and deceit and drove me to the Dark side. And….”

Ben looked at Mal, who said, “Ben? What is it?” Ben sighed and said, “Mal, Palpatine is….was your grandfather.” “What?” Mal said stepping back. “Yes,” Ben said. “He’s your grandfather. I forgot to mention that when I unloaded everything onto you. You were the one to defeat him.” Mal took some deep breaths and said, “Does he know about me?” Ben shook his head and said, “No, he doesn’t. He knows that you are important to me, but because you haven’t gotten your memories or Force connection back, he can’t sense you.” “OK,” Mal said. “That’s a good thing, right? If I don’t get my memories and Force connection back, then we can be one step ahead of him and find a way to defeat him.” “Yeah,” Ben said, looking down. “Ben?” Mal asked. “What’s wrong?” “Well,” Ben said. “Yeah, we can do that, but he is one of the most powerful Force users to ever exist. I can’t handle him all on my own. The best way to defeat him is if the dyad is reunited. If you get your memories and Force connection back.” 

Mal stared at Ben and said, “Ben, you said you wouldn’t pressure me into this choice. It’s a big choice.” “I know,” Ben said. “But I wasn’t expecting the man who ruined my entire family to come back and potentially threaten everything that I have worked hard for to make your wish of us having a better second chance at life together! And I have waited a very long time for the other half of the dyad to be reunited with me fully! I am losing my patience!” Ben stopped when he realized what he just said and looked at Mal who started to tear up. “Mal,” Ben said. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any of that.” “Yes, you did,” Mal said. “I didn’t realize that this was hard on you. I should be the one who is sorry. I didn’t mean to make you suffer as you wait with my decision. I’m so sorry.” 

Mal started to cry as Ben walked over and held Mal in his arms as she cried and Ben said, “I’m sorry Mal. I didn’t mean to unload all of my feelings onto you. It’s just been so hard all of these years waiting for you to come over to Auradon, to develop our relationship, and to wait for you to be fully reawakened. My patience has been wearing thin. Palpatine’s potential return has me on edge. Of course I don’t want him to get to you. But I know that we can defeat him together, like we should have before once and for all.” Mal pulled away and dried her eyes, saying, “I understand. I will make my decision soon, I can promise you that. For now, let’s just keep our guard up and see what we can find out. Maybe we can go visit Chad when he wakes up and find out what happened and if he encountered this Palpatine. Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t. But we can’t worry about it. We can just be prepared.” Ben nodded his head and said, “Well, why don’t we go over to the computers and see if we can research what happened last night since Chad is in a coma?” Mal nodded and Ben led her to the computers in the room.

Meanwhile, Chad, or rather Palpatine in Chad’s body, woke up. He sat up and looked around. “This must be the boy’s bedroom,” Palpatine thought. “Then my plan worked perfectly. I can sense people waiting outside. Yes. I sense the Fairy Godmother that I have seen through Uma and Audrey. She could be very useful for what I have planned.” He heard the door click and saw the boy’s parents and Fairy Godmother walk in. “My boy!” Cinderella ran to her son and hugged him. “I am so glad you are alright. What happened, sweetheart? Why were you out in the forest last night?” Palpatine then said in Chad’s voice, “I am sorry, mother. I didn’t mean to scare you. I got upset at the ball last night and I needed some air. I didn’t mean to wander out so far.” Cinderella put her hand on Chad’s forehead and was surprised that he felt cold. “You feel cold,” Cinderella commented. “Are you sure you’re alright?” Palpatine gave a creepy smile on Chad’s face and said, “Of course, mother. I’ve never felt better.” 

He then surprised everyone by raising his hands up and freezing the three adults in place with the Force. Letting out an evil chuckle, Palpatine said in Chad’s voice, “Now, you three will obey me.” He then reached out with the Force and used his power to put the three adults under his dark control. Their eyes glowed yellow as Chad’s eyes turned yellow for a second. Sensing his work was done, Palpatine put his hands down and said, “Good. You three are now under my control. Correct?” “Yes, Master,” Cinderella, King Charming, and Fairy Godmother said. “Excellent,” Palpatine said. “Now, there are some things we need to discuss. Starting with this. Is is true that I will become king if King Ben falls?” 

Ben and Mal were looking at the computers in Ben’s secret room as C-3PO said, “There had been no signs of Force energy in the areas that you are looking at, Master Ben.” “I figured,” Ben said. “As advanced as these computers are, if someone like Palpatine is strong enough to cover his tracks, then this computers can’t help in any way.” “Wait a minute,” Mal said. “We might be looking at this the wrong way. Ben, can you use the Force to sense where Palpatine might have been?” Ben closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and said, “Unfortunately I can’t. Like I said, Palpatine is masking himself somehow. I can’t sense him.” “Then,” Mal replied. “If we can’t sense or track him, then we should go about this from another angle. Can we track where Chad might have gone to last night?” Ben realized what Mal was saying and gave her a quick peck on the lips and said, “You’re a genius.” Mal smiled and said, “I know.” Ben typed away at the computers and got a hit. “There,” Ben said. “I have a weak heat signature that’s about 10 hours old. We can start there.” “We shouldn’t do this alone,” Mal said. “The forest surrounding your castle is huge. Plus we made need some more magic at our side if we are dealing with this all powerful Force user. I’ll call my gang and Uma’s crew and have them meet us at the forest’s edge.” “Tell Uma to bring Celia with us,” Ben said. “She’s a seer and we may need that.”

Audrey was sitting in her bedroom drinking tea. She was smiling thinking about her night with Harry at the ball. She was going to see him later at the address at Ben’s castle. She looked over to the door when she heard a knock and said, “Come in.” A guard came in and said, “Princess, your parents and grandmother request your presence downstairs in your father’s office. Immediately.” Audrey was confused. Her parents never requested her like this before. She took a deep breath and got up and said, “Alright. I am coming.” She walked past the guard and out of her room. 

She arrived at her father’s office and was surprised to see Chad’s parents sitting there with her parents and grandmother. She curtsied out of respect and said, “King Charming. Queen Cinderella. Greetings.” King Phillip looked at Audrey and said, “Darling, your mother, grandmother, and I have been discussing with the king and queen of Cinderellasburg and decided to unite our two kingdoms through matrimony to their wonderful son, Chad.” Audrey’s heart fell to her stomach as she whispered, “Marriage? To Chad? But why? I don’t love him. I love someone else.” “To that pirate?” Queen Leah sneered. “Yes, we heard all about him and how you two have been seeing each other in secret. Chad told us what happened last night. How he was trying to talk to you and that pirate beat him up. No wonder Chad was a mess when they found him outside the forest this morning.” “That’s a lie!” Audrey shouted. “Chad assaulted me because I denied him and Harry saved me. I have the bruises on my arm to prove it.” “Audrey!” Phillip shouted. “That is no way to talk to your grandmother. This marriage to Chad is happening and that is final. You already failed one betrothal so you will not mess this one up!” Audrey was appalled at how her family was acting. This was not like them. Standing tall, she glared at her family and said, “With all due respect to everyone here, I will not marry Chad. I will fight this with all my strength. I love Harry, and there is nothing that can change that.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Audrey twirled around and saw Chad standing in the entryway, smiling a creepy smile. “Now, can everyone except Audrey please leave for a moment? I want to talk to my future bride alone.” To Audrey’s surprise, all the adults in the room stood up and walked out of the room, the door closing behind them, but Audrey noticed a yellow glow in their eyes, which disturbed her. 

She turned to Chad and said, “What’s going on? I understand that you are upset about last night, but this? Why? This isn’t you.” Chad chuckled darkly which made Audrey shiver with fear. “What’s going on is that as future king of Auradon, I need a queen by my side and I chose you, my dear.” “What?” Audrey said. “You can’t be future king of Auradon. Ben is king.” “Not for long,” Chad said, grinning. Chad’s eyes flashed yellow and Audrey took some steps backwards and said, “You’re not Chad.” 

Suddenly Chad let out an evil laugh, and the voice sounded familiar to Audrey. She gulped and whispered, “You. The one who made me steal the scepter and crown.” “Very good,” Chad said but this time in Palpatine’s voice. “For a spoiled princess, you are very bright.” “What did you do to Chad?” Audrey shouted. “Ah,” Palpatine said. “Well, after your little revenge scheme failed, you gave me enough dark energy to come to this world. Unfortunately I was just a spirit with no body so I needed a vessel. And this prince wondered into the forest with a broken heart. He was right for the taking. His soul is trapped in his mind while I occupy it. And now I will conquer this world and the worlds beyond this one. But in order to do that, I need to get rid of the current king. And I am giving you what you always wanted, to be queen of Auradon.” “I don’t want that anymore,” Audrey said. “I realized that I was wrong. Ben was never meant to be with me. I found my true love.” “Ah,” Palpatine chuckled. “That pirate. Interesting choice. I know of a pirate, or smuggler in this case, from a long time ago in a galaxy far far away. He fell in love with a princess. Their union created a son, a son that I molded with my hands and mind to make the perfect dark warrior, Kylo Ren. Only he disappointed me in the end.” Audrey’s eyes went wide and she whispered, “Ben.” “Oh,” Palpatine said. “So the king has told you his little secret. Interesting. This will help my plans even further.” 

“What plans?” Audrey asked. “My plans for domination,” Palpatine answered. “I am going to expose the king for not being who he says he is and remove him from the throne. Then I am crowned king, with you as my queen. Then my darkness will build on this world until it dominates it completely. Then I will conquer the galaxy, planet by planet. Just like I did millennia ago.” “You won’t get away with this,” Audrey said. “Ben is more powerful than you think, and no one will believe you.” Palaptine let out an evil laugh and said, “Oh, people will. I’ll show them what happened on that fateful day. When the king ran into the forest, heard the siren’s call, and was possessed by an ancient spirit who wants to take the throne away for himself and cause chaos to Auradon, all in the name of the Enchantress, who wants her revenge on the kingdom that banned magic and cast out the villains in such horror. Oh yes, I have heard of this Enchantress and how she threatened King Adam and Queen Belle that there will be consequences for their actions. Fairy Godmother is very enlightening when she became under my control. In fact, she is meeting with the council right now and spreading my darkness to them, like I did to your family. During the New Years Address, I will expose the big secret and force his hand. And the former king and queen will force that villain Hades, who Fairy Godmother will magically capture beforehand, to remove the evil spirit from the king and expose him in front of the entire kingdom. But, the poor parents will find out that they just ordered the death of their only son. So, since the king has no heir, I will take the throne, as I am next in line. Then my new empire will begin.”

“You’re a monster,” Audrey said, backing away. Palpatine raised his hand and used the Force to summon Audrey into his arms. Audrey tried to break free but couldn’t as tears started to run down her face. “Don’t worry, my dear,” Palpatine said. “Once you are filled with darkness again, you will understand and you will join me.” Palpatine crushed his lips onto Audrey’s and through the kiss he had some of his darkness go into her. Audrey tried to fight him off, but the darkness was winning. A sign of it working was that her hair was turning back to the pink with blue highlights like it was during her revenge scheme. Palpatine pulled away and saw Audrey’s eyes turn yellow for a second before going back to normal. “There you are, my dear,” Palpatine said. “How do you feel?” “Good,” Audrey said with an evil smile. “Excellent,” Palpatine said as he held out his arm. “Come. We must go find Fairy Godmother to check her progress. Then we will go to the New Years Address and enact my plan. The people of Auradon are in for a surprise.” Audrey took his arm and the two walked out of the office.

Over in the forest, Ben and Mal met up with Evie, Carlos, Jay, Uma, Harry, Gil, and Celia. “OK,” Uma said. “So explain to me again why we are out here in the cold retracing some prince’s route?” Ben glared at Uma and said, “Because something dark has entered this world that should not have. The same darkness that was in that amulet you had. The same one who affected Audrey. And the same one who messed with my family millennia ago!” Mal walked over to Ben and said, “Ben, breathe. It’s OK. We will get to the bottom of this. Just breathe.” Ben took some deep breaths and turned to Uma and said, “Sorry. It’s just, this dark man has done so much evil that it makes everything all the villains did child’s play.” Uma nodded and said, “I get it. From what I remember of him when I had the amulet, his darkness was strong. If Chad somehow encountered him out here, then we need to find out.” 

“Gil,” Ben said. “You’re good at tracking. Can you find Chad’s footsteps?” “Sure,” Gil said. “Harry can help me.” Harry nodded in agreement and went with Gil to find Chad’s footprints. Ben turned to Celia and said, “Celia, can you use your visions to figure out what happened last night?” “I can try,” Celia said. “It works best through touch.” Celia started to walk around and tried to sense where Chad was the night before.

“OK,” Jay said. “So Chad gets upset because of Audrey and Harry, so he runs out here. Why?” “He probably was suffering from a broken heart,” Evie said. “He worships Audrey. And now that he knows that he isn’t her true love, he’s heartbroken. So he probably ran off into the night, not thinking about where he was going.” “Poor guy,” Carlos said. “I mean, I am not the biggest fan of the guy since he likes to sneak into my room to use my 3D printer, and he’s never been the biggest fan of us VKs, but he didn’t deserve almost freezing to death out here.” 

Mal listened to what her friends were saying, but then she got the feeling that she was being watched. She turned and saw Agathe standing in the distance, staring right at her. Suddenly she heard Agathe’s voice in her head, “Mal. The time has come. Time to regain what you have lost and what you need so you can start your true destiny. Come find me, Rey.” Mal stared at Agathe as the woman held out her hand towards Mal, silently begging her to come to her.

But then Evie stepped in front of Mal and said, “Mal? Are you OK? It looks like you’ve seen a ghost.” Mal looked at Evie, then back where Agathe was standing, but Agathe was gone. Mal shook her head and said, “I’m fine, Evie. Just thinking. Nothing to worry about.” Evie didn’t seem convinced, but dropped the matter for now.

As Gil and Harry were trying to find Chad’s footprints, Harry kept rubbing his chest in pain. Gil noticed and asked, “You OK, man?” “I don’t know,” Harry said. “I’ve been feeling chest pains for a little while today that won’t go away. And for some reason, all I am thinking about is Audrey. I don’t know why.” Suddenly Gil stopped making Harry bump into him. “Gil? Warn me next time?” Gil pointed his finger to some tracks. Harry smirked and shouted, “Guys! Over here!” Everyone gathered around them and Carlos said, “Good work, Gil. Based on the imprints, these are definitely Chad’s footprints. Only he wears shoes like these.” 

The group followed the tracks that led to a small clearing and everyone stopped in shock. They saw decay all around the area. “What happened here?” Evie asked. “Something bad,” Uma said. “I can feel all sorts of darkness here.” Ben closed his eyes and reached out with the Force. Suddenly everyone heard an evil laugh and Ben opened his eyes. “Palpatine,” Ben said. “He was here. That was his voice.” “Does that mean Chad interacted with him?” Jay asked. “I don’t know,” Ben said. “I can’t see anything. The Force is clouded around here. Palpatine covered his tracks.” Celia knelt down and put her hand on the ground and she got fractured visions in her mind. “Ben’s right,” Celia said. “I can’t get a clear vision of what happened here. All I can sense is a dark spirit and Chad’s fear. The two definitely interacted here. And the darkness was so great that it killed all wildlife in this small area. Even my shadows are afraid. If we want to figure out what happened, we need to talk to Chad. Physical contact with him will help clear the visions I got.”

Ben’s phone beeped and Ben pulled it out seeing a message. “We need to head back,” Ben said. “Is it about Chad?” Mal asked. Ben shook his head and said, “It’s almost time for the New Years Address. We need to go get ready. I’ll try to contact Chad’s family and see how he is doing.” Everyone nodded and walked out of the forest. Mal turned back to the forest and saw Agathe staring at her again, but Mal turned around and followed Ben and their friends.

Hades was sitting in the little apartment he was given after leaving the Isle. He was going to watch the New Years Address from there as even though he wanted to be there, he knew that many people in Auradon still didn’t trust him. He looked over at a box that contained his ember. Mal had returned it to him after the barrier came down since she said, “It was never meant for me. Like you said, I’m half Hades. It will always be yours.” Hades sighed as he looked out the window and saw the Isle in the distance. He was glad that he was able to spend more time with his daughter, but he sensed that Mal was troubled as of late. Since he found out about who Mal truly was, he sensed her conflict about if she wanted her memories and Force connection back. He wanted to help her, but knew that he couldn’t.

As he was thinking to himself, the door to his apartment blew open and Fairy Godmother along with some guards burst in. Fairy Godmother had her wand and waved it at Hades, putting him in magical chains around his hands and legs. “Hades,” Fairy Godmother said. “You are under arrest for conspiracy!” Guards circled Hades and grabbed him as the god struggled. “Unhand me!” Hades shouted. “I have done nothing wrong since being released from the Isle!” Fairy Godmother waved her wand and Hades’ mouth was covered up so he couldn’t talk. She looked over and saw the box that the ember was in and picked it up. “We’ll be needing this,” Fairy Godmother said. “You will help expose the false king for who he really is.” Hades’ eyes widened as the guards dragged him away, Fairy Godmother pulled out her phone and calling Chad, or rather Palpatine.

Back in Cinderellasburg, Palpatine, in Chad’s body, was lounging in the library with Audrey at his side when his phone rang. He answered it, “Is it done?” “Yes,” Fairy Godmother answered on the other side. “We have Hades and his ember.” “Good,” Palpatine said. “I will go to the king’s castle and you will wait outside there until I call for you. Have the guards with Hades at your side.” “Understood,” Fairy Godmother answered then she hung up. 

Palpatine looked over at Audrey, who was sitting quietly, and asked, “Are you ready to overthrow the king?” Audrey smiled a creepy smile and said, “Absolutely.” “Very good,” Palpatine said as he stood and Audrey took his arm. 

They walked out where guards that Palpatine had under his control along with King Charming and Queen Cinderella were waiting. “It’s time,” Palaptine said. “Time to expose this false king and have the true king take the throne. My darkness will spread throughout this world and I will reign as Emperor once again!” The mind controlled crowd cheered as Palpatine smiled. For some reason, he felt like singing a song, which he didn’t know why, as the words started to come out of his mouth and as her sang, the other people in the room chanted along with him, 

_(Palpatine)_

_King Ben is yesterday’s message_

_A clapped-out, distracted regime_

_Whose failings undoubtedly presage_

_The need for a different dream_

_Yes, Auradon’s times are a-changin’_

_Which means that you all must too_

_My vision is clear and wide-ranging_

_And even encompasses you_

_So prepare for the coup of the century_

_Prepare for the murkiest scam_

_Meticulous planning, tenacity spanning_

_Decades of denial is simply why I’ll be king_

_Undisputed, respected, saluted_

_And seen for the wonder I am_

_Yes, my teeth and ambitions are bared_

_Be prepared_

_(Everyone else)_

_Be prepared_

_Be prepared_

_Be prepared_

_Be prepared_

_(Palpatine)_

_Be prepared_

_(Everyone else)_

_Be prepared_

_Be prepared_

_Be prepared_

_Be prepared_

_(Palpatine)_

_Be prepared_

_(Everyone else)_

_Be prepared_

_Be prepared_

_Be prepared_

_Be prepared_

_(Palpatine)_

_Be prepared_

_Yes, my teeth and ambitions are bared_

_(Everyone)_

_Be prepared ___

__Palpatine let out an evil laugh as Audrey joined him and everyone cheered around him, ready to enact Palpatine’s plan to expose and overthrow King Ben._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Told ya I might have the next chapter out before the new year.
> 
> So, yeah, things aren't looking too good for our main hero. You'll just have to wait and see what happens next.
> 
> I forgot to mention in the last chapter, that the possession scene with Palpatine and Chad was inspired by the possession scene from the Tin Man TV miniseries where the Wicked Witch possesses the lead's older sister. That scene creeped me out for a long time. So if you're interested, go find it and watch for yourself.
> 
> Also, the song I used here was "Be Prepared", but the one from the 2019 remake, which I don't own. Although I am not a fan of that movie, I found that version of the song to be menacing and short to the point. So I felt that it could fit here. 
> 
> See you next time!


	34. A Dark Day

Citizens of Auradon were starting to gather in the throne room in Ben’s castle. Evie and Doug walked in hand in hand as Doug noticed a worried look on Evie’s face. “Evie?” Doug asked. “Everything alright.” “Oh,” Evie said. “Yeah. Just worried about Mal. She forgot her notes for the speech this morning and that just makes me worried about her. But I’m probably overreacting.” 

Carlos walked in with Dude and found Jane standing in a corner of the room by herself, looking sad. Carlos walked over to her and asked, “Jane, is everything OK?” “I don’t know,” Jane said. “My mom went to go check on Chad this morning and hasn’t come home. I tried calling her but she won’t answer. I’m worried about her.” Carlos pulled Jane into a hug and whispered, “Everything will be OK.” But Carlos became worried that something could of happened to Fairy Godmother.

Jay walked in with Lonnie and Lonnie said, “So, where did you go earlier today? I thought we were suppose to hang out before the New Years Address.” “Sorry,” Jay said. “Mal needed to met up for a while. I should have called you.” “It’s OK,” Lonnie said. “Just warn me next time.” Jay nodded, but he was tense and had his guard up.

Uma walked in with Harry, Gil, and Celia. Uma had become Celia’s mentor after the barrier came down and now saw the little fortuneteller as a little sister of sorts. Uma kept her guard up so that she could sense if something dark would come into the throne room. She looked over at Harry, who had a pained look in his eyes and was still rubbing his chest. “Harry,” Uma asked. “What is going on? You’ve been like this all day.” “Sorry, captain,” Harry said. “I haven’t been feeling well. My chest has been hurting and I’m worried about Audrey. She’s not answering my calls.” Uma walked over to her first mate and said, “Keep it together. Even though I am fine with this arrangement that you and the pretty princess have, you are still a pirate and my first mate. Start acting like it.” Harry nodded as Uma sighed, “Let’s hope this isn’t a sign that something bad is about to happen.”

Ben paced a little back and forth in the room next to the throne room. Mal noticed and said, “Ben, relax. You’ve done tons of speeches before.” “I know,” Ben said. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this, that’s all.” “Ben,” Mal said walking up to Ben and putting her hands on his shoulders. “Everything is going to be fine. Uma will be in the back keeping an eye out with her pirates and my gang are spaced throughout. If Palpatine decides to crash, then we’ll be ready for him.” “I know,” Ben said. “But he’s crafty. I’m just afraid that he’ll do something that we weren’t prepared for.” Mal hugged Ben and said, “I know you are worried. But since we don’t know where he is or what his game plan is, we just have to be on our guard. OK?” Ben pulled back and nodded. 

Mal sighed. She knew that Ben was still upset that she hadn’t made her decision on whether she wanted her memories and Force connection back, and the Palpatine mess was not helping matters. She thought back to when she saw Agathe in the forest holding her hand out to her and begging her to come with her, and that made Mal think. “Should I have followed her?” Mal thought. “Should I do this? This might help Ben take Palpatine down when he decides to show his face.” Mal heard trumpets sound and Ben said, “That’s our cue.” He held out his arm and Mal took it, and the royal couple walked out of the room and into the throne room.

The audience cheered as Ben and Mal came into the room and Ben led himself and Mal to the thrones where Adam and Belle were standing. Mal let go of Ben as the king stepped forward and started his speech, “Welcome, citizens of Auradon. And Happy New Year!” Everyone cheered and clapped. “This year will bring many things to the kingdom of Auradon. The biggest one is that Auradon will have a new Queen.” Ben looked at Mal and smiled at her, Mal returning the smile. “Also, Auradon will continue its transition of citizens from the Isle to Auradon like it has been for the past 5 months. And the ban on magic has been lifting a little at a time. My goal is to bring balance to Auradon that will help the kingdom flourish….”

“Liar!” Everyone’s heads turned toward the entrance to the throne room and saw Chad standing there. Chad started to walk forward while Queen Cinderella tried to stop her son, “Your Majesty, I apologize for my son’s actions….” Chad waved off his mother and shouted, “No! I have something to say that everyone needs to hear. And that is that our beloved King Ben is nothing but a fraud!” Everyone gasped as Ben said, “Chad. What grounds do you have to tell me that?” “Last night,” Chad answered. “I was attacked by a dark force, led by a woman in a dark cloak. The darkness called her Enchantress.” “Her!” Adam shouted. “She’s the one who cursed me all those years ago. But no one has seen her in over 20 years.” “She was there,” Chad accused. “She tried to attack me and affect me with her darkness. Just like she did to the king 11 years ago.” The crowd gasped as Belle asked, “What are you talking about? My son is not affected with darkness.” “He was,” Chad said. “I have proof that King Ben has been possessed by darkness since his 7th birthday. By someone who claimed to be a protector of Auradon. The one people call Solo. But he is no protector. He is a dark spirit known as Kylo Ren, a man who has done great evil millennia ago.” 

The crowd gasped as Ben clenched his fists but tried to remain calm as he knew that Chad was the one telling lies. Mal grabbed Ben’s arm and shouted, “That’s a lie! Ben is not possessed by anything!” “Of course you, a villain, would say that,” Chad said. “Since you are part of his and the Enchantress’ plan to bring chaos to Auradon.” “Chad!” Ben shouted. “That is enough! You have no right to come here and throw accusations at me with no physical proof.”

“He does.” Everyone turned and saw Fairy Godmother walk in with a stern look on her face. Jane saw her mother and whispered, “She’s here. But something doesn’t feel right.” “What do you mean?” Carlos whispered. “She feels cold,” Jane said. “My mother can be stern and disciplined, but never cold. Something’s wrong.” 

“When my godson was recovered this morning,” Fairy Godmother said to the crowd, “I used my magic to look into his memories to see what happened. And he is telling the truth. He was attacked by the Enchantress and she revealed what she did to King Ben all those years ago. So the king who stands before us is not our king. He has been possessed by the dark spirit known as Kylo Ren while also masquerading as Solo.” Everyone gasped as Uma sensed a dark aura coming from Chad and Fairy Godmother, not to mention his parents. “Something’s wrong here,” Uma whispered to the VKs around her. “I sense a darkness spreading in here, trying to infect everyone here. Grab hold of each other now.” The VKs along with Doug, Jane, and Lonnie grabbed each other’s hands as Uma’s necklace glowed softly. Carlos picked up a whimpering Dude and held him tight in his arms while also holding Jane’s hand tightly.

Fairy Godmother held her wand and waved it above her head and everyone saw Chad’s memories: him in the forest at night, a woman in a dark cloud surrounded by shadows coming up to him, telling him about wanting to affect him with darkness like she did with Ben, and Chad running away before the Enchantress could do anything. Ben saw the memory and mentally told Mal, “That’s not Agathe. She sounds nothing like that and looks nothing like that. Somehow Chad has a false memory. But why?” Mal was thinking in her mind about how this memory could be in Chad’s head while Fairy Godmother continued, “I went to the forest where this memory was from and I used my magic to scan the area. And I found a disturbing memory.” 

She waved her wand again and showed a memory of the past: Ben, age 7, running away from his birthday, standing at the edge of his mother’s rose garden. Then the wind picked up and at the forest’s edge stood the Enchantress in her dark robes and she sang a siren song, 

Come little prince

I’ll take thee away

Into a land of enchantment 

Come little prince

The time’s come to play

Here in my garden

Of magic

Young Ben was in a trance and followed the Enchantress into the forest to her secret realm. She bound the prince’s hands and feet together and she called a dark spirit to her side and it looked like Solo when he was Kylo Ren. Young Ben fell out of his trance and started to cry and scream when the Enchantress started her magic spell as Solo’s spirit possessed the young prince, his dark mask appearing over the prince’s face before fading. The cries and screams stopped and Ben went eerily quiet. The Enchantress unbound the prince’s hands and feet and said, “How are you, my dark spirit?” Young Ben looked up and said in a deep voice, “Fantastic.” The memory shifted showing the young prince placing himself within reach of the castle to be found by his parents, various secret meetings with the Enchantress about how his dark plan was going, and him getting the VKs over to Auradon to start the plan of chaos. It also showed Ben sharing his plan with Mal and she helping him in his schemes.

The memory ended as the crowd was shocked at what they just saw and Ben stood there in shock and mentally told Mal, “None of that is true. Something dark is going on here.” “What do we do?” Mal mentally asked back. But before Ben could say anything, Fairy Godmother shouted, “Guards! Bind the king and arrest the villain next to him!” Guards appeared from all doors into the throne room and stormed the stage. Two guards held Ben’s arms and two others started to drag Mal off the stage. “Mal!” Ben shouted as he strongly shoved one guard off of him and raised his hand towards Mal and Force pushed the two guards that were dragging her away. The crowd was shocked at what Ben just did, especially his parents. Doug looked at Ben and whispered, “I didn’t know he could do that. Is Fairy Godmother right?” “No!” Evie whispered back. “Ben is not evil. Someone is trying to overthrow him. And Chad is right in the middle of it.”

Celia was staring right at Chad. During the showing of the memories, Celia noticed that Chad had one of his hands low to the ground and weaving it strangely. She sensed some strange aura on him that wasn’t there before. Something wasn’t right about Chad. She broke free of Uma’s grasp and walked up and put her hand on Chad, when she got bombarded with visions. Chad noticed this and hissed in his Palpatine voice, “Get off me, girl!” He shook her away as Celia was scared by what she saw. She ran back to Uma and Uma held her in one arm, trying to calm her down.

Lonnie whispered, “Has Ben been lying to us all these years?” “No!” Jay whispered. “Well, yes about some things, but not this.” Lonnie looked at him weirdly and Jay sighed, “I’ll explain later.” 

Jane leaned over to Carlos and whispered, “Something is off about those memories. I’ve seen Solo in action at Cotillion and I didn’t sense any evil from him. But is he possessing Ben?” Carlos whispered back, “Not exactly. You are right about him not being evil, but none of what these memories show are true. I promise you that.” 

Adam and Belle looked over at their son in horror. Ben saw this and had a shocked look on his face. Mal mentally said, “Why did you expose your powers like that?” “I wanted to save you,” Ben mentally said as more guards grabbed Mal, but before Ben could use his Force powers again, Fairy Godmother waved her wand and chains appeared on Ben’s hands and Mal’s hands. Chad secretly waved his hand low towards Ben. Ben tried to break free, but was shocked to discover that he couldn’t. “Force binders!” Ben thought. “But how?” Mal sensed his thoughts before his mind went quiet and she couldn’t hear Ben’s thoughts anymore. 

“My boy!” Belle shouted and tried to get to him, but Adam held her back. “He’s not our boy,” Adam said. “He hasn’t been for a long time.” Ben heard this and started to tear up. Fairy Godmother then said, “We can end this dark plan right now by freeing the king from this possession. Bring in the prisoner.”

The doors opened and guards dragged in a bound Hades into the room. “Dad!” Mal shouted and she tried to break free but couldn’t. Hades turned his head and saw his daughter in chains and his hair caught on fire in rage. Fairy Godmother walked in front of Hades and said, “We brought you here to free the king of the dark spirit that inhibits his body. If you refuse, then your daughter will suffer.” Jane gasped softly as she knew her mother would never be this cruel. Hades couldn’t talk as he had something over his mouth to prevent him from talking, so he looked over at Mal with sad eyes. Mal whispered, “No. Please.” Hades sighed and nodded yes.

Fairy Godmother handed him his ember and other guards pulled Ben forward. Belle was crying as Adam said, “Do it. Free my son of this dark spirit, Kylo Ren.” The guards pushed Hades towards Ben and Hades closed his eyes and channeled the ember’s powers and directed it towards Ben. The king struggled to break free, but couldn’t. He then gasped as he felt his soul being ripped from him forcefully by Hades. “No!” Mal shouted. “Ben!” His body went limp and fell to the ground, not moving. A ball of light came out of his body and formed into Solo in front of Hades, shocking the crowd. Doug, Jane, and Lonnie were the most shocked. “Ben did lie to us,” Lonnie whispered. “Not in the way you think,” Uma whispered. “Ben and Solo are one and the same. That is him. A reborn soul. That Hades ripped right out of him.” Jane started to cry and Carlos whispered soothing words into her ear to calm her down as Dude muttered, “That’s why Solo smelled like Ben.” 

Fairy Godmother waved her wand and the chains that were on Ben went onto Solo so he couldn’t get away, “As everyone can see, Ben has been freed of the dark spirit Kylo Ren.” Belle broke free of Adam’s hold on her and ran off and scooped her son into her arms. “My baby!” Belle cried. She rocked back and forth with Ben in her arms. She looked up and saw Solo staring at her with tears in his eyes. Belle noticed that look as she had seen it multiple times, ever since Ben was a boy. Even before he turned seven. “Ben?” Belle whispered to Solo. Solo nodded and whispered, “Mom. It’s me. Please see that.” Belle gasped as Chad stepped forward and said, “See? I told you that the king was a liar.” Solo growled and turned towards Chad, but then he sensed something in Chad. He reached out with what little Force he had access to and felt a familiar presence in Chad. “Palpatine,” Solo thought in his head. “He’s possessed Chad and planted those false memories. He also must be controlling Fairy Godmother.” Solo glared at Chad and shouted, “If anyone is being possessed by a dark spirit, it’s you, Chad.” Chad laughed and said, “Of course a dark spirit would give false accusations like that. Just to save his own skin.” 

“Guards!” Fairy Godmother shouted. “Take this dark spirit and lock him in the dungeons!” Guards picked up Solo and dragged him out of the room. Solo looked at Mal and shouted, “Mal! It’s him! He’s possessed Chad!” The door closed and Mal turned and stared at Chad. 

Belle put one of her hands on Ben’s neck and shouted, “He doesn’t have a pulse!” “The Queen Mother is distressed,” Fairy Godmother said. “These events shown here today in front of the council and the citizens of Auradon have shown that this royal family is not fit to rule over Auradon. Therefore, I declare that the next heir in line for the throne becomes king. My godson, Prince Chad.” “What?” Adam shouted. “My son is freed from that dark spirit. He will wake up and we will help him return to normal.”

Hades’ hair flared up and the gag over his mouth disappeared. The god shouted, “Then you’re a fool, Adam! You don’t realize that you ordered the death of your son!” People in the crowd started to argue as Uma whispered, “Darkness is already affecting people.” Adam stood there in shock and said, “You tell lies, Hades!” “No!” Hades said. “You don’t understand. I just pulled the only soul that resides in your son. You don’t understand that the soul I pulled out was a reborn soul that helped you have an heir. If it wasn’t for him, you wouldn’t have an heir to the throne.” Adam stood there in shock as Fairy Godmother waved her wand and magically put another gag in Hades’ mouth, walked over and pulled the crown off of Ben’s head and said, “Whatever the case, I hereby crown Prince Chad king of Auradon.” Chad kneeled and Fairy Godmother placed the crown on his head. He stood up smiling. Everyone except Mal, Hades, and the groups of VKs along with Doug, Jane, and Lonnie bowed to Chad. “You’re right, Uma,” Evie whispered, “They’re under the darkness’ control. They showed no emotion when Hades revealed the truth about Ben. Chad is now King.” 

Chad, or rather Palpatine, walked up and sat down on the throne. He looked out to the crowd and said, “Citizens of Auradon. Today is the start of a new reign. It will be a reign of glory and power. And I will rule over Auradon with my new Queen.” Suddenly a side door opened and in walked Audrey with her new pink hair with blue highlights hairdo and she was wearing a pink dress with black lacing. She walked up to Chad and kneeled before him. Harry stood in the back in shock. “Audrey?” Harry whispered. “She’s under a spell,” Uma said. “That’s why your chest has been hurting,” Gil said. “Same thing happened to Mal when Ben was spelled by Audrey.” “That guy will pay,” Harry whispered as he glared at Chad.

Chad motioned for Audrey to stand and he said, “Welcome, my dear.” “Thank you, beloved,” Audrey said, causing Harry to want to charge at Chad, but Gil and Jay held him back. Chad then motioned for Audrey to sit next to him and Chad said, “Guards. Take the previous king and queen to their rooms and put them under house arrest. They will be interviewed later to determine if the dark spirit Kylo Ren affected them at all. They can take their son with them as they deal with their grief.” Belle cried as guards pulled her to her feet and escorted her out of the room. Guards tried to grab Adam, but he pulled his arms away and shouted, “I want to carry my son!” The guards relented and Adam bent down and picked up Ben’s body bridal style and the guards escorted him out of the room.

“What about the villains, my dear king?” Audrey asked. “I suggest we throw all of them back to the Isle of the Lost. Starting with the not-to-be Queen.” Mal glared at Chad and Audrey and said, “Ben was right. If there’s anyone possessed here, it’s you.” Chad laughed and said, “You won’t win, fairy child. Guards! Take her and her villain friends back to the Isle. Fairy Godmother, you will help collect all the villains that were released and send them back and put the barrier back up.” “Yes, Your Majesty,” Fairy Godmother said. She turned to the VKs in the back of the room and said, “Our citizens will not interact with villains anymore. Especially my daughter!” She waved her wand and was magically trying to rip Doug, Jane, and Lonnie away from the VKs’ grasps, but Uma’s magic was keeping them with her. Fairy Godmother concentrated harder and Doug was ripped form Evie’s grasp, Jane was ripped from Carlos’ grasp, and Lonnie was ripped from Jay’s grasp. “No!” Evie, Carlos, and Jay shouted. Doug, Jane, and Lonnie landed in the arms of the guards, the darkness of Palpatine starting to affect them. 

Guards started to advance on the VKs as other guards started to led Mal out of the room. But Hades’ eyes started to glow and his hair reignited. The ember was clenched in his fist as he ripped the new gag off of his mouth and used the ember to blast the guards off of Mal and another blast to break the chains on her. “Run!” Hades shouted. “Get your friends and get out of here.” “Dad!” Mal shouted as Chad tried to get the guards to arrest the villains. “I’ll be fine!” Hades shouted as he threw his ember to Mal, who caught it. “Go!” Hades shouted. Mal cried, but nodded and ran through the crowd, who tried to stop her, but she pushed them away with her magic, and she freezes the guards around here friends so she could reach them. They huddled around her and Mal mumbled her teleportation spell and the eight VKs, along with Dude, disappeared. Hades smiled as guards surrounded him.

Chad roared with anger and shouted, “Find them! Now!” Some guards nodded and ran out of the throne room. Chad pointed to Hades and said, “Take him to the dungeons where he can keep Kylo Ren company.” Guards escorted Hades down to the dungeons. Chad looked at the crowd and said, “Now, citizens of Auradon, go and spread the word that there is a new king on the throne.” The crowd nodded as if in a trance and left the room. Chad smiled and sat back down. He looked over at Audrey and said in his Palpatine voice, “Everything went according to plan. Mostly anyway. That god let Mal and the other villains get away. No matter. We will find them.” “What will you do while we wait?” Audrey asked. Palpatine smiled and said, “We will plan our grand wedding for tomorrow as well as your coronation as my Queen. But first, I need to check on little Ben Solo in the dungeons.” 

Chewie was lounging in Ben’s bedroom at the castle when his ears perked up as he heard, “There’s danger in the castle. Ben’s soul has been split from his body. His soul is locked in the dungeon while his body is locked with his parents in their rooms. Go find Ben’s body. One of the Force spirits still with him will help you. Go!” Chewie barked once and he charged out to the balcony. He realized that he would have to somehow climb the outside wall and roof to reach the balcony of Adam and Belle’s rooms. Chewie leaped off and his claws caught onto the wall. He then started to crawl towards his destination.

Ben Solo sat in his cell with a sad look on his face. “Why didn’t I sense Palpatine sooner?” Ben Solo whispered. “I should have stopped him sooner. But his dark influence was more than I thought. And now I’m stuck here in these cuffs and Auradon will soon be in chaos. It’s my fault. I should have stopped him sooner.” Tears started to leak down his face as he cried, “And Mal. I couldn’t keep her safe.” 

He stopped crying when he heard the door to the dungeons open and he turned to see guards dragging in Hades and they threw him into the cell next to his and walked out. Hades growled at the retreating guards and he looked over at Ben Solo and said, “You look like crap.” Solo sighed and said, “I feel like it. These cuffs are blocking me from the Force.” “So you can’t break out,” Hades guessed. “Same with these. Especially since I don’t have my ember anymore since I gave it to Mal.” Solo turned and said, “Wait. Mal. Is she OK?” “She’s fine,” Hades answered. “I freed her from her chains and she magically teleported herself and the other VKs somewhere. I don’t know where.” Solo sighed and said, “At least she’s safe.”

They both heard the door to the dungeons open and they saw Chad walk in with an evil smile on his face. “Well, well,” Chad said. “Look what we have here. Ben Solo at his most vulnerable. How does it feel?” Solo stood up and said, “Safe it. Palpatine.” Chad chuckled, but with Palpatine’s voice, and Palpatine said, “Clever. But not clever enough to see me coming.” “You are sick,” Solo said. “You are possessing an innocent boy just to have the power back that you had and always wanted. You’ll never get away with this.” Palpatine laughed and said, “I already have, young Skywalker. It’s just a shame that I didn’t destroy you like I thought all those years ago on Exegol. When I threw you down that ditch I should have checked to see if you were dead. But now here we are. I am about to take everything you worked so hard to get and you have a front row seat to the start of my new Empire. But this god of the Underworld here freed that fairy child and her friends. But don’t worry, I will find them and crush them.” Solo banged the cell bars and shouted, “Don’t touch them!” Palpatine laughed and said, “You can’t do anything about it. I bet you don’t have much time left. When Hades here tore your spirit from your new vessel, the connection was broken. Soon that vessel will die and you will be just a spirit that I will destroy forever.”

Hades slammed his cell bars and said, “You can’t destroy a soul. They’re immortal.” “Maybe,” Palpatine said. “But the Force can do many things that even you, god of death, don’t realize. Now, young Skywalker, there is something I need from you. Where is the other half of the dyad? I know it wasn’t just you who was reborn here.” Solo kept his mouth shut so Palpatine blasted lightning at Solo, who cried out in pain. Palpatine asked, “I’ll ask you again. Where is my granddaughter?” Hades froze at that statement as Solo cried out, “You’ll never find her. I don’t know where she is.” Palpatine stopped his attack and said, “I could just enter your mind like I did all those years ago, when you were just a baby. I’ve been a voice in your head for many years. So, let me in and tell me where she is.” Palpatine started his mental attack, but Solo’s mental walls were stronger than Palpatine realized so he backed out. “Fine,” Palpatine said. “You’ve grown with the Force since your previous life. No matter. I will find her and destroy her.” 

Adam and Belle were in their bedroom with guards outside. Belle was sitting on the bed next to Ben’s body as she cried softly. Adam paced the room and said, “I don’t understand. How could this have happened? Our son has been lying to us for years. Was he ever our son?” “Adam!” Belle shouted, stopping Adam in his tracks. “I don’t understand what has happened either. But Ben is our son. I believe what Hades said. And I just want my son back.” Belle cried into Ben’s shoulder as Adam stared at his wife and son with a solemn look on his face.

Suddenly a magical wind blew through the room and a voice was heard, “Spirits hidden from my sight, reveal yourselves in the sun’s light.” Adam saw something glowing on Ben’s chest and Adam shouted, “Belle. Come over to me now!” Belle looked at what Adam was seeing and ran over to Adam. A ball of light came out of Ben and landed in front of Adam and Belle. It formed into Leia, who smiled at the couple and said, “Relax. I am not here to harm you. I want to help get my son back just like you.” “Your son?” Belle asked. 

Leia sighed and said, “You two deserve an explanation. The soul you saw ripped out of Ben. In his previous life, his name was Ben Solo. But due to dark circumstances, he went by the name Kylo Ren. And he was my son.” Adam and Belle looked at Leia with shock. Leia noticed this and said, “I should start at the beginning. Ben was born over a millennia ago in a galaxy far far away. I was his mother. Princess Leia Organa-Skywalker. I was the princess of a destroyed planet called Alderran. My husband, Han Solo, was a smuggler. We came into each others’ paths during a war between the Empire and the Rebellion. Along with my long lost twin brother, Luke Skywalker.” “Long lost twin brother?” Adam asked. Leia nodded and said, “Luke and I were separated at birth because right before we were born, the leader of the Galactic Republic, Sheev Palpatine, declared himself Emperor and turned the Republic into an Empire. He also destroyed a group called the Jedi. My mother, Padme Amidala, was a former Queen turned Senator in the Republic. She was secretly married to a Jedi named Anakin Skywalker. Palpatine turned Anakin away from the light to the dark side of the Force…” “What’s the Force?” Adam asked.

Leia answered, “The Force is a energy field that created by all life that connects everything in the universe. It is far older than the magic of this world, thus superior to it in a way. Only a few people have powers from it, like myself, my brother, my father, and my son.” “That’s how Ben was able to push those guards away from Mal?” Belle asked. “Because of the Force?” Leia nodded and said, “Anyway, Palpatine turned my father to the dark side and my father became a Dark Lord called Darth Vader. Shortly after, my mother gave birth to my brother and I and she died in childbirth. In order to protect us from the Emperor and my father, we were separated. I was sent to become a princess of another planet. My brother was sent with my father’s family on a desert planet. But fate had us meet again and we, along with Han Solo and others, sided with the Rebellion and fought the Empire. Luke turned my father away from the Dark Side and defeated the Emperor and the Empire fell. A few years later, I gave birth to my son, Ben. But Ben was strong with the Force, much like his grandfather was.” 

Leia sighed and said, “I was not the best mother to Ben. He had the dark voice of Palpatine in his head since he was a baby and I wasn’t around enough to help him. His father wasn’t much better, always off on smuggling jobs and never home. I wasn’t much better, I was a Senator in the New Republic. We weren’t there to help my son with his powers. And he always had nightmares thanks to Palpatine, under the guise of a man called Snoke, in his head, twisting his mind to the dark side. So I sent my son to my brother to train him to become a Jedi. But that didn’t help and my son was turned to the dark side. The final push was my brother, in a moment of weakness, almost killing my son when he sensed the darkness within him. But my son ran away and destroyed my brother’s Jedi temple. He ran to Snoke and became Kylo Ren. My son….was not a good man during that time. He destroyed many places and people, and even killed his own father in cold blood. But that act has haunted him always. But things started to change when he came across a girl named Rey. She was a scavenger from a planet called Jakku who was his equal in the Force. They learned later that they were a dyad in the Force, two that are one. They developed a Force bond through certain events, even Kylo cutting down Snoke, and me sacrificing the last of my power to call to him which cost me my life, he became Ben Solo again. And he and Rey went to defeat Palpatine, who was alive thanks to cloning, and they defeated him. But Rey lost her life and Ben traded his life for hers. But Rey only lived for another 10 years as her spirit wanted to reunite with my son’s. So she made a wish to the Force and they were reborn here in Auradon. Ben was reborn as your son.”

Adam and Belle stood in silence as they processed what Leia said. Adam spoke first, “So why was your son reborn as our son?” Leia sighed and said, “When Ben’s soul arrived here, he met Agathe, who you know as the Enchantress. She told him the events that happened in this world and said that because of your actions, the world was suffering and unbalanced. The warning she gave you was that you would suffer the consequences. And the consequences were that you would never have an heir.” Belle gasped as Adam said, “But Ben was born.” “Only because of my son stepping in,” Leia said. “Agathe brought him here on the night before you two found out you were expecting a child. You were, but if Ben didn’t agree to be reborn as your son, then you would of had a stillborn child. As the baby had no soul. My son reborn as your son was the key to helping this world restore its balance. Ben agreed to be reborn as your son for a second chance at life and to fulfill his destiny as the savior of this world. But his memories and Force connection were taken away. He lived the first few years of his childhood in peace. He got the childhood he should of had. But then he started to get his memories back slowly.” 

“The nightmares he had as a child,” Belle realized. “Those were his old memories?” Leia nodded and said, “Those dreams were his dark memories of when he was Kylo Ren. They terrified him, but he also had dreams of him and Rey. Agathe was sending him the dreams to say that it was time to have his memories and Force connection restored so that he could fulfill his destiny. That was also around the time he started having dreams about Mal. So when he overheard that you betrothed him to Audrey, he was heartbroken and ran away. Agathe found him and gave him the choice if he wanted his memories and Force connection restored. The memory you saw today was not how it happened. Ben had the choice. And he chose to reawaken. He was still the same Ben you knew, just enlightened. His dreams of Mal was the reason he wanted to start the VK program. And he secretly visited the Isle as Solo and saw just how horrible it was there.” 

Leia then walked forward and took Belle’s hands and said, “Ben still loves both of you. You gave him the childhood I couldn’t give him. That I should have given him. I thank you for that. But just know that he will always be your Ben. The same Ben who loves eating his favorites of Mrs. Potts. The same Ben who works hard to make Auradon a great kingdom. Don’t listen to the lies you heard today. Listen to your heart and know what is true.” Belle started to cry again and nodded saying, “I believe in my son.” Adam nodded as well and said, “I do as well. But why would Chad show us a false memory?” Leia sighed and said, “Chad has been possessed by Palpatine, who somehow came here. He wants to take everything away that Ben holds dear. Starting with his kingdom. Then he will destroy the other half of the dyad. Which we need to make sure he doesn’t find.” “You mean Rey?” Belle asked. “If Ben was reborn, then since he is part of this dyad, Rey must have been to. But as who?” Leia smiled and said, “His true love, of course.” 

Adam and Belle’s eyes widened, but Leia held her hand up and said, “Don’t say it aloud. The less said the better. We just need to give her time so that she can find Agathe and have her memories and Force connection restored. Only then can Ben be saved and Palpatine be eliminated for good.”

Suddenly they heard barking outside and they turned to see Chewie standing on the balcony. Leia waved her hand and the door opened. Chewie came bounding in and saw Leia and ran straight to her. Suddenly another ball of light came out of Ben and formed into Han Solo, shocking Adam and Belle. “Hey, Chewie,” Han said. Leia said, “This is Han Solo, my husband.” Adam walked forward and said, “You’re Ben’s original father, yes? Then you and I need to have some words.” Han held up his hand and said, “I know. I have made mistakes in the past regarding my son. But I already feel the guilt. And Leia made sure of it. And I know that Ben killed me, but if that meant starting the process of brining my son home, then I would do it again in a heartbeat.” Adam saw the truth in Han’s eyes and nodded. 

Leia turned to Chewie and said, “Dog to Wookiee.” Gold mist surrounded Chewie and he turned into his Rookie form, startling Adam and Belle. Han chuckled as Chewbacca pulled him into a bear hug, the Wookiee happy to see his old friend again. Leia turned to Adam and Belle and said, “You already know Chewbacca. This is his true form. Agathe did the magic. She sent him to Ben to watch over him in the physical plane while me and the rest of the spirits stayed with Ben in his mind. Chewbacca, you are going to accompany the other spirits and find Mal and her friends. They need protecting. I will stay here with Padme and help preserve Ben’s body. We need to get his spirit reunited with his body.” Other spirits came out of Ben’s body, most going toward Chewie while Padme appeared next to Ben, startling Adam and Belle. Leia sat next to Ben along with Padme, while Chewbacca roared and magically disappeared along with the other spirits. 

Belle ran over to Ben’s side and said, “You can save him.” Padme spoke up, “Leia and I can preserve Ben’s body. But only Agathe or Hades can reunite Ben’s spirit with his body. Or maybe…” “Mother,” Leia said. “We don’t know if the Force can do that. I know what you are thinking.” “We need to have faith, Leia,” Padme said. “If Hades or Agathe can’t help, then maybe Rey can.” Belle sat next to the two Force spirits and said, “I just want my son back.” “He will come back,” Leia said. “And Palpatine will be destroyed once and for all. We must have faith in the Force.” Adam sat next to his wife and prayed that his son would come back to him.

Over at the Enchanted Lake, Mal, Evie, Carlos, Dude, Jay, Uma, Celia, Harry, and Gil magically appeared. Mal immediately broke away from the group and paced back and forth saying, “This is bad. This is very, very bad. Palpatine came right under our noses. How did he possess Chad? How does he control Fairy Godmother? How…” “Mal!” Evie walked over and put her hands on Mal’s shoulders. “Breathe, Mal. We will figure this out. And we’re going to save Auradon.” “How?” Carlos asked. “If you remember, Chad, or whoever is possessing Chad, just walked into that throne room, showed everyone that Ben has been keeping certain secrets, had Hades rip Ben’s soul out from his body, and took the throne for himself. Not to mention he probably has all of our friends, including my girlfriend, under some dark control.” “As well as brainwashing my love into becoming his Queen,” Harry added. “So,” Jay asked. “What can we do?”

Celia stepped forward and said, “When I grabbed Chad’s arm, I saw what happened to him.” Uma walked up and said, “I know a spell that can show us what you saw, Celia.” She walked up to the water of the Enchanted Lake and chanted, “Magical waters, clear as can be, show us the visions we need to see.” The water glowed as the magic of the lake rose and surrounded Celia, then went back down into the lake.

The visions that Celia saw were shown to the others: the dark spirit Palpatine arriving in a dark forest, him finding Chad, who was melancholy about Audrey not loving him back, Palpatine forcefully possessing Chad, the prince’s screams ringing in everyone’s ears and Evie putting a hand over her mouth in horror, Palpatine walking out of the forest in Chad’s body as decay grew around him, him pretending to be unconscious as guards found him, Palpatine unleashing his dark control unto Fairy Godmother, Chad’s parents, and the guards, him forcefully kissing Audrey and turning her evil, which made Harry cringe and scream with fury, Palpatine planning his overthrow of Ben, Fairy Godmother capturing Hades, and then the VKs heard Palpatine say, “The dyad will be destroyed once and for all. But I must find the other half. Rey can’t hide forever. I will find her and destroy her as well as the young Skywalker.”

The visions stopped and everyone stood in silence. “Wow,” Gil said. “We’re doomed.” “That’s messed up,” Dude commented. “How could someone do that to Chad?” Evie asked. “I know that he can be a bit…him, but even he doesn’t deserve this.” “Palpatine said that he wants to destroy the dyad,” Uma said. “I know that Ben is one half, and this Rey is the other half. But Ben never told us where Rey is. I assume she was reborn here like Ben was, but we don’t know who she is. She could by anyone…”

“It’s me.” Everyone turned and saw Mal staring at the ground. “Palpatine’s looking for me. I’m Rey. Or that was who I was in my previous life.” Everyone was shocked by Mal’s admission. Evie stepped forward and asked, “Why didn’t you say anything?” “Why?” Mal shouted. “What would I say? That I started getting my memories back slowly through dreams right before I arrived here in Auradon? How Ben knew who I was the entire time? How now I have to choose if I want my memories and Force connection back like Ben did? Even though I’m afraid I’ll lose who I am now? The true me? You, all of you, never really knew the true me. The one who had a facade of a tough girl while on the Isle to hide the lights inside of me. The one who met with Solo alone to talk about my dreams. The one who remembered that my father always called me Rey, his little sunshine. None of you know the real me. Heck, I don’t know who I am anymore. Am I Mal? Am I Rey? I don’t know anymore. The only person who does is Ben, but now he’s captured by that monster, who was my grandfather in my previous life, and Auradon is doomed, and it’s all my fault, because I haven’t made my decision. It’s my fault.” Mal kneeled to the ground and started to cry, her friends watching in silence. Mal looked at her reflection in the water and started to sing,

If only I knew what my heart was telling me

Don’t know what I’m feeling

Is this just a dream?

Ah oh, yeah

If only I could read the signs in front of me

I could find the way to who I’m meant to be

Ah oh

If only 

If only

Mal sobbed into her dress. Her friends watched her, unsure of what to do. Uma walked up to Mal and kneeled down next to her, “Mal. You need to pull yourself together.” Mal looked up at Uma and said, “What?” Uma sighed and said, “Look, just because you are a reborn soul doesn’t mean that your life up to this point was nothing. You are still the girl who was a leader on the Isle. The girl who defeated her own mother. The girl who saved Auradon too many times to count. The girl who freed those on the Isle. And the girl that loves Ben. You still have all of that despite your previous life. And I know that Ben feels the same way. He loves all parts of you. You as Rey and you as Mal. Do you love him as the king and him as Ben Solo?” Mal nodded as Uma continued, “Then you understand what I am saying. Rey is just another part of you. And right now, we need that part of you if we are going to save Auradon from your evil grandfather of the past.” Uma stood up and held her hand out to Mal, who took it and stood up.

A magical wind swirled around the VKs and Chewbacca appeared before them with the Force spirits, although Mal was the only one who could see them. Dude shouted, “Chewie!” Chewbacca roared and ran over to Mal, giving her a big hug. “Chewie!” Mal said as Chewbacca hugged her. “How did you get here?” Chewbacca let go of her and pointed to the Force spirits with him. “Uh, Mal,” Evie asked. “What is he pointing at?” Uma’s necklace started to glow and Uma asked, “Is there something here that we can’t see?” Mal nodded and said, “Force spirits.” Uma nodded and chanted, “Spirits hidden from my sight, reveal yourselves in the sun’s light.” Suddenly everyone else saw the Force spirits standing next to Chewbacca. “Greetings, young ones,” Obi-Wan said. “Ghosts!” Gil shouted, jumping into Jay’s arms, but Jay dropped him. 

“It’s OK,” Mal said. “These are spirits from my past. This is Han Solo, Ben’s dad, Luke Skywalker, Ben’s uncle, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda, old Jedi masters, and Anakin Skywalker, Ben’s grandfather.” Harry chuckled at Anakin’s youthful appearance, which the spirit used as his wife had her youthful appearance as a spirit, and said, “This is Ben’s grandpa? A hippie?” Anakin turned to Harry and asked, “Would you rather I look like this?” His form shifted into his Darth Vader form, with the creepy breathing from his mask and red lightsaber in hand. Harry cowered a bit and said, “Hippie was cool.” Anakin shifted back into his old look and said, “Thought so.” 

“Where are Leia and Padme?” Mal asked. “Staying with Ben’s body,” Han Solo answered. “So that his body won’t shut down completely before his spirit is reunited with it. But Ben’s soul is down in the dungeons along with your father, Hades.” “We don’t have a lot of time,” Luke Skywalker said. “We need to reunite his soul with his vessel before it’s too late.” Mal reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out Hades’ ember. “But I have my dad’s ember. How can we reunite Ben’s soul with his body?” “Ben’s soul must be freed, first,” Yoda said. “His soul must be close to his body, in order for it to work.” “Hades can reunite the two,” Obi-Wan said. “Agathe could as well. But we have another thing we must do first.” “We came here to guide you to Agathe,” Anakin said. “Mal, you need to regain your memories and Force connection. Then the dyad will be whole again and you and Ben and take down Palpatine for good.” “Can’t we just magically go to wherever Agathe is?” Carlos asked. Luke Skywalker shook his head and said, “We have to go by foot. We must hurry. The guards are in the forest looking for all of you. We need to get Mal to Agathe quickly!” 

Uma looked over at Mal and said, “Well, princess. You have to decide. Do you want this or not?” Mal pulled out the Kyber Crystal she wore and looked at it. She felt Ben’s presence and that comforted her.

But before she could give an answer, they heard shouts coming from outside the lake perimeter. “We’re out of time,” Obi-Wan said. “We have to go. Now!” Uma grabbed Mal’s arm and the VKs, Dude, Chewbacca, and the Force spirits started to run away.

The guards spotted them and started to run after them. Chewbacca pulled out his crossbow and fired non-lethal shots at the guards to slow them down. Luke, Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Anakin used the Force to push guards away and have the Force use nature to block the guards’ paths. The VKs ran as fast as they could. But Celia shouted, “Do we even know where we are suppose to be going?” “No clue,” Jay shouted back. The Force spirits stopped and Luke said, “The five of us can create a barrier to hold the guards off. But not for long.” “Wait,” Han said, “How can I….” “You can, smuggler,” Anakin said. “We can provide a distraction,” Obi-Wan said. “Hide behind some of the trees and wait until the guards have left. Then run.” “But,” Mal said. “We will be fine, young one,” Yoda said. “Go!” “Chewie!” Han shouted. “Protect them!” Chewbacca roared and he, Dude, and the VKs ran and hid behind some large trees. They heard the guards closing in, but then they heard a loud bang coming from the other direction. “They’re that way!” One of the guards shouted. “Troops, move out!” The guards went into the directions of the sound. 

After a few minutes, the VKs, Dude, and Chewbacca came out of their hiding spots and Evie said, “They’re gone.” “For now,” Harry said. “More may come. We need to keep moving.” “Hold on,” Carlos said as he picked up Dude. “We don’t even know where we are suppose to be going. Does anyone know where Agathe could be?” “He’s got a point,” Uma said. “She’s very good at hiding herself. She appears when she wants to and no one knows where she lives. Why do you think they couldn’t find her when they tried to arrest here all those years ago?” “I could send out my shadows to search for her,” Celia suggested. “No,” Jay said. “That may reveal our location. We can’t use magic.” “Why not?” Gil asked. “I just said why, Gil,” Jay replied. 

The group was arguing amongst themselves and Mal and Chewbacca were standing a couple feet away. Mal sighed, knowing that Jay was right about that they shouldn’t use magic to find Agathe as that might reveal their location. But she was also thinking about her decision.

She felt the wind pick up and leaves swirled around her. She turned and saw Agathe standing in the distance. The Enchantress held up her hand and said, “The time has come to regain what you have lost. Come with me.” Mal was scared, but she knew that Agathe was there to help her. She started running towards Agathe as the Enchantress magically glided through the forest. 

Evie turned and saw Mal ran off and shouted, “Mal! Wait!” The other VKs noticed and ran off after Mal, Chewbacca following behind. 

Mal kept running to keep up with Agathe. Finally she came to a tree that Agathe passed through. “Come,” Agathe called out. Mal sighed and walked through the tree. The other VKs and Chewbacca ran up to the tree, seeing Mal go through it. “Should we go in too?” Evie asked. “Maybe,” Uma said. “Uh,” Gil said. “I don’t know. It looks sketchy…..” Chewbacca pushed everyone in then walked in himself. 

Mal looked around the room she appeared in and saw Agathe standing there. The Enchantress pulled off her hood and said, “Welcome, Mal. I’ve been expecting you.” Suddenly the other VKs and Chewbacca tumbled into the room, Dude falling out of Carlos’ arms. “And it appears that you brought others with you,” Agathe said. Uma got up and said, “We had no choice. Palpatine’s guards are trying to find us. What were we suppose to do? And why haven’t you stepped up and done anything to stop all of this?” Agathe sighed and said, “I am sorry. I knew that Palaptine was coming to this world, but not when. I am only a guide, after all. I did not expect all of this to happen so quickly. My main duty is to Ben and Mal.” 

“Ben’s in trouble,” Mal said. “Palpatine forced my father to split is soul from his vessel. He’s suffering.” “I know,” Agathe said. “I felt it. I can reunite his spirit with his body if I can get to him. If we want to save Ben, then we must act quickly.” “Like you should have done already,” Uma huffed. “Chewbacca,” Agathe said. “Can you please escort these guests to another part of the room? I need to speak to Mal alone.” “But,” Mal said. “It’s alright,” Agathe said. “They will still be here for you. But we must speak alone. They will still be in earshot.” Chewbacca picked up Dude and pushed the VKs to move to the other side of the room and Harry shouted, “Alright, beastie. Calm down. We’re walking.” 

Once the VKs were at the other side of the room, Agathe turned to Mal and said, “You know why you are here.” Mal nodded and said, “It’s my fault.” “Why would you say that?” Agathe said. “I made you and Ben wait for my decision about this,” Mal answered. “If I had made this decision sooner, then maybe none of this Palpatine business wouldn’t of happened. And Ben….” Mal began to cry again. Evie wanted to go over and comfort her friend, but Chewbacca held her back. Agathe walked up to Mal and said, “It may be true that you could have made this choice sooner, but maybe not. The Force works in mysterious ways, Mal. You must have faith in it.” “Then why wasn’t I told about any of this sooner?” Mal asked. “I told Ben not to tell you until it was time,” Agathe said. “That boy wanted to tell you so many times, but he listened to the Force and waited until the Force deemed it so. And now is that time. But like Ben did, you have a choice. You can walk away from here without your memories and Force connection, or you can regain them and reunite the dyad.” 

She waved her hand and a ball of light appeared and took the form of Rey. The VKs were shocked as Celia whispered, “That’s Rey?” Mal stared at the spirit as Agathe explained, “This form contains your memories and Force connection that I took from you when your spirit arrived here. I split it from you and sent your soul into the vessel waiting for you on the Isle. Just like I did with Ben when he arrived after you.” “He came after me?” Mal asked. Agathe nodded and said, “Indeed. He wanted to see you, but I told him that you already made your choice. It was your wish that brought both of you here.” “What wish?” Dude asked, but the VKs around him shushed him. Agathe chuckled and suddenly everyone heard a woman’s voice say, “Please. I wish to be with him again in a new life. Away from all of this. I want a chance to be with him and live a life with him. I want to be happy again.” Mal looked at Agathe and said, “That was me?” Agathe nodded and said, “That was the wish you made to the Force right before you died. Your spirit wanted to reunite with Ben’s and have a second chance at a better life.” 

“But why was I reborn on the Isle?” Mal asked. “From the pieces I’ve seen, I didn’t have a good life beforehand. And my childhood here wasn’t that great.” “I understand,” Agathe said. “But your light helped ease your darkness. You have both, just like Ben. And honestly, Auradon needed a little bit of dark to balance things out. Which was why Ben was reborn in Auradon. You had the light that the Isle needed, and Ben had the dark Auradon needed. You two are destined to bring balance back to this world. You helped do that in your previous life, and like here, you had friends that helped you along the way.”

Suddenly other forms stood next to the form of Rey, whom Mal recognized. “Finn,” Mal whispered. “Poe. Rose. Maz. I recognize them from my dreams.” Agathe nodded and said, “The spirits of the past will help guide you just like others have done for Ben.” “Peanut,” Finn’s spirit said. “You deserve this new life. We are here to help you stop Palpatine for good.” “Indeed,” Poe’s spirit said. “I would love to blast that guy off the face of this planet.” “We want to help you,” Rose said. “Just like your friends in your new life have.” She pointed to the other VKs who were shocked to see the spirits. “Remember what I said to you long ago,” Maz said. “The belonging you seek is not behind you. It is ahead.” 

Mal looked at all of the spirits along with Agathe, then looked over at her friends. And she thought of Ben. Her other half. He made this choice a long time ago and has done everything in his power to make her wish come true. But should she embrace her past to make a better future? Ben was both Ben Solo and Kylo Ren, and now was King Ben and Ben Solo, so could she be both Mal and Rey? She took a deep breath as she felt a song come onto her heart,

Is this my past here before me?

Is this my story unfolding?

It’s all here to discover

Everything that I am

Can this be what I’ve been seeking?

All my life I’ve been waiting for this

And now these memories

Will they make me see more?

These spirits calling me

Familiar voices haunting

Disappearing taunting me

This is the choice I must make

Mal looked up and Agathe and said, “I will do it.” The VKs were shocked at Mal’s answer as Chewbacca roared with joy. Agathe smiled and said, “Then let’s begin.” Agathe chanted her spell as the spirits around the form of Rey turned into balls of light and entered Mal’s body. Then Rey’s form started to merge with Mal as Mal’s body absorbed her memories and Force connection. The VKs gasped when they saw Rey’s face come over Mal’s face for a second before disappearing.

Back with Luke, Anakin, Yoda, Han, and Obi-Wan, they felt Rey’s return in the Force and nodded to each other, disappearing as the guards came running through. The guards looked around, confused at what just happened.

Palpatine, in Chad’s body, was walking back from his trip in the dungeons when he felt a shift in the Force. “It’s her,” he whispered softly. “My granddaughter. I felt her in the Force. She’s here.” 

Ben Solo was sitting in his cell next to Hades, and even though he had Force cuffs on, he felt something in the Force. He shot his head up, which Hades noticed and asked, “What is it?” “Rey,” Ben said. “She’s reawakened. She has her memories and Force connection back. I felt it.”

Back at Agathe’s hidden room, the Enchantress looked at Mal and said, “Do you remember?” Mal looked up and said, “I remember.” She paused for a second then said in her original Rey voice, “Everything.” The VKs gasped as Uma said, “It worked.” Agathe walked forward to Mal and said, “So, what do you think? Are you Mal or Rey?” “Both,” Mal said in her Rey voice. She then cleared her throat and continued in her regular voice, “I still feel like the new me, but I also feel like the old me. Ben was right. I’m still me, just enlightened.” 

Agathe motioned for Chewbacca to let the VKs come up to Mal and Evie ran over and hugged Mal and asked, “Are you OK?” Mal nodded and said, “I’m better than OK. I’m me, the full me. I just got a missing piece of me that I realized that I was missing. Maybe I knew I was missing it, but it took a while to realize that. But now, we need to rescue Ben and save Auradon from Palpatine. I destroyed him once, I can do it again. This is what I must do!” Her friends smiled as Mal felt one last part of a song wanting to come out,

Cause I know where I belong

I know where I, I came from

I know the reason why

I did decide

And now I leave here

The woman I am inside

The future is clear for me to see

To be the woman I’m meant to be

Like my love with my head held high

Standing tall

And proud of all

That I am

Mal looked at everyone and said, “I am Rey. But I am also still Mal. But most important of all.” She reached her hand out and felt the Force around her again and summoned a rock from another corner of the room to her hand, startling the VKs. “I have my Force powers back,” Mal said. “I can feel it making my magic stronger and move beyond it. Now, let’s go save Auradon!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that this chapter took longer than a week to get out. I was struggling with making sure everything sounded right and everything made sense. It is my longest chapter to date so that should hopefully make up for the waiting time.
> 
> I have three songs in here, none of which I own. The first one is based off of "Come Little Children" from Hocus Pocus. The second is the deleted reprise of "If Only" from Descendants 2. And the last is a song called "Everything that I Am" from the Tarzan Broadway musical. The last one I changed the lyrics around a bit to make sense in the story.
> 
> There will probably be two or maybe three more chapters in this story before it's done. See you later.


	35. Dyad vs. Palpatine

Over at Ben’s castle, Adam and Belle were pacing back and forth as the spirits of Leia and Padme watched over Ben’s body. Leia suddenly gasped as Belle heard it and asked, “What is it?” Leia looked over at Padme and asked, “Did you feel a shift in the Force?” “I did,” Padme said. “She’s reawakened.” “Who?” Adam asked. Leia turned to Adam and said, “The other half of the dyad.”

The VKs, Dude, and Chewbacca were still in Agathe’s secret realm when the Force spirits of Luke, Han, Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Yoda appeared there and Luke said, “Welcome back, Rey.” “Master Luke,” Mal said. “It is great to see you again. And you, Han. Thank you all for helping Ben.” “The pleasure is ours,” Obi-Wan said. “But right now,” Yoda said. “Auradon is our biggest concern.” “He’s right,” Anakin said. “We need to stop Palpatine. We need to come up with a plan.” “There is a place we can go,” Agathe said, looking at Mal, who realized what Agathe meant. “Right,” Mal said as she pulled out her Kyber crystal and focused on summoning the door to Ben’s secret room. The door appeared and everyone in the room went through it.

C-3PO and R2-D2 were waiting inside and C-3PO walked forward and said, “Mistress Mal. It is good to see that you are safe.” But Mal surprised C-3PO by walking up to the gold robot and hugging him saying, “I missed you, 3PO.” Mal pulled away as C-3PO was confused for a second, then realized, “Mistress Rey! It’s really you. Welcome back.” R2-D2 beeped a few times in excitement as Mal giggled and said, “It’s nice to see you to, R2-D2.” 

Mal then thought for a moment and said, “Ben told me once that he can summon anything to this room that he can think of. Maybe that can work for me now.” She closed her eyes for a few moments. Suddenly everyone heard a beeping noise and they turned to see a little white and orange ball robot wheel through the room towards Mal, who opened her eyes and shouted, “BB-8!” She kneeled down to the robot, who beeped in excitement. Poe’s spirit came out of Mal and said, “Good to see you, BB-8. I missed you, buddy.” The spirits of Finn, Rose, and Maz also came out as Luke stepped forward and said, “As much as this is touching, we have to refocus here.” 

“Right,” Mal said standing up. She walked over to the computers as the VKs followed her. Mal typed into the computer and got camera footage of different places in Auradon. “The guards have already started to round up people from the Isle,” Uma noticed. “We need to free them.” “Look at the guards at Ben’s castle,” Jay pointed out. “They look much more militaristic.” “Like Stormtroopers,” Mal commented. “Wait,” Carlos said as he walked up to the computers and did some typing. “The computers are picking up something from the forest. Like something is growing underground.” After some typing, the computers showed that several giant Destroyers were magically growing underground, along with clones. “He’s making a new armada,” Mal realized. “Through magic.” “But how?” Evie asked. “He’s been absorbing energy from both Uma and Audrey,” Mal answered. “Which means he also absorbed magic from this world and combined it with his Force powers. He can create an armada over night. And it looks like he’s growing another clone army as well. I bet that he is planning to unleash it tomorrow after Audrey’s coronation and wedding.”

“Tomorrow?” Harry asked. “Then we have to stop him now!” “OK,” Mal said turning to everyone in the room. “If we are going to tackle all that Palpatine is throwing at us, then we need to split up. Uma, you and your crew will be in charge of rounding up those that were forced back to the Isle. I’ll destroy the barrier using my dad’s ember then you all will rally the VKs and villains to charge Ben’s castle. And Uma, I may need your magic later on if that armada is released. Carlos and Jay, you two are going to sneak into the museum and borrow a few items: Evie’s mirror and King Triton’s trident. Meet Uma’s crew at the water’s edge and give her the trident. Then you two will meet Evie at Ben’s castle and you all are going to sneak into Ben’s castle. Evie will be the eyes and ears thanks to the mirror. Carlos, you are going to make a device that will latch onto Ben’s Force cuffs and free him. And Jay, you are going to get Fairy Godmother’s wand off of her. Dude, you will go with them and you are going to sneak in and find Hades.” “What?” Dude shouted. “Why me?” Mal pulled out the ember and said, “I am going to give this to Agathe who will then give this to you after I destroy the barrier and you are going to sneak into the dungeons and give this back to my dad.”

“Mal,” Agathe said stepping forward. “Are you thinking what I am thinking about what you want Hades to do?” Mal nodded as Agathe continued, “While Evie, Carlos, and Jay sneak into the throne room, I can magically sneak to where Ben’s body is being hidden and start the merging process once his spirit has been freed of those cuffs.” Mal nodded and she walked over to all of the Force spirits and said, “Finn, Poe, Rose, and Maz, if Palpatine’s armada is unleashed, then we are going to need some firepower to take that armada down.” “Can you make ships out of thin air like Palpatine can?” Finn asked. Mal smirked as she pointed to the Millennium Falcon on the other side of the room. “Han and Chewie will fly that and I can cover the rest for you all. Uma will magically assist you from the ground.” “Man,” Poe said. “It will be good to fly a ship again.” Han walked over and said, “I’m just happy that Chewie and I will fly the Falcon again.” Chewbacca roared in agreement.

Mal walked over to the other Force spirits and said, “You four will hide near Ben’s castle and keep an eye on the guards. No lightsabers on them. They are under mind control and I don’t want any of them hurt.” “Agreed,” Obi-Wan said. “But if this clone army Palpatine is growing along with the armada,” Yoda said. “Then action we must take.” “I agree,” Anakin said. “We’ll take down his new clone army if they pop up.” “What are you going to do Mal?” Luke asked. Mal smirked as her eyes glowed green and said, “It’s time to let this dragon loose.” 

“But.” Mal turned and saw Uma step forward. “Don’t you have all those Force powers like Ben does now?” “I do,” Mal said. “But I don’t want Palpatine sensing me too early. Only when I confront him face to face will I do so. But now that you mention it, there is something that I need to do.” “What’s that?” Celia asked. Mal pulled out her Kyber Crystal and said, “I need to make a lightsaber.”

Mal sat down in a meditative position and closed her eyes. Suddenly pieces of metal from around the room floated towards her, shocking the VKs. Mal started to float in the air as well. The pieces of metal formed around the crystal until a lightsaber was made. Mal floated back down to the ground and opened her eyes. She picked up the lightsaber and ignited it. A purple beam came out and Mal smiled. “Interesting,” Mal said. “The one I had in my previous life was yellow.” “It’s because you have balance now,” Luke said. “Balance of light and dark,” Yoda added. “It shows that you and Ben are the dyad again,” Anakin said. “Now you are ready,” Obi-Wan said. Mal smirked and said, “Let’s prepare. For tomorrow, we are going to take back Auradon!” 

The VKs and Force spirits along with Agathe, Chewbacca, and Dude stayed up all night in the secret room. Mal was on edge as she hated the fact that Ben was sitting in a dungeon, probably in pain, but everyone helped keep her at ease.

Morning dawned as Auradon faced another day of Palpatine’s reign. All of the villains and VKs had been gathered up the day before, thrown back onto the Isle of the Lost, and Fairy Godmother put the barrier back up. Preparations were almost complete for the wedding and Audrey’s coronation. Chad, or rather Palpatine in Chad’s body, strode through the castle and walked out into the gardens. He placed his hand on the ground and said, “My armada is nearly complete along with my army. After I wed and crown Audrey, I will unveil them and start the process of reclaiming the galaxy.”

Solo was sitting in his cell next to Hades as he looked out the window at the sunrise. He was feeling weak from being away from his vessel for too long and from having the Force cuffs on, blocking his Force connection. Hades looked over to Solo and said, “We need to get out of here and stop whatever this Palpatine guy is planning.” “We can’t,” Solo argued. “As long as these cuffs are on me, I’m powerless. Same goes for you. And you don’t have your ember on you as well.” Hades sighed and said, “I hate just sitting around and doing nothing.” “You need to have hope,” Solo said. “And have faith in the Force. And believe in Mal.” 

Suddenly guards came into the dungeon and one of them said, “Kylo Ren. You are coming with us.” “Why?” Solo asked. The other guard answered, “King Chad wants you to have a front seat during the ceremony before your destruction.” Both guards dragged Solo away. Hades looked out his cell window and whispered, “I know you can do it, Rey. I have faith in you.” 

Audrey was getting ready in another part of the castle for her wedding and coronation. The darkness in her was beaming with anticipation. Audrey looked at herself in the mirror when she was finished putting her dress and makeup on. She smiled and said, “The day I have been waiting for my whole life. I am going to become Queen of Auradon.” “But you won’t be with the man you love,” a little voice in her head said. Audrey cringed, the goodness in her was trying to break the hold Palpatine put on her. She held her head and whispered, “No! This is the choice I am making. Stay quiet!” The little voice was gone and Audrey smiled an evil smile. A knock was heard on her door and a guard came in and said, “It’s time, Your Highness.” Audrey nodded and walked out of the room, ready for her wedding and coronation.

Meanwhile, Mal’s plan was already underway. Carlos and Jay were at the entrance to the museum. They saw the old security guard and cracked the door open a little and released the sleeping spray. It took longer than they would have for the guard to fall asleep. Once done, they snuck in and turned off the cameras and alarms. They retrieved Evie’s mirror and the trident then left. They raced to the water’s edge where Uma, Harry, Gil, and Celia were waiting. “Took you lads long enough,” Harry grumbled. “Sorry,” Carlos said. “The sleeping spray took longer than we thought.” “Just take the trident and get going,” Jay said, handing it to Uma, who shrunk it and put it in her necklace. Carlos and Jay then ran to met up with Evie.

Uma, Harry, Gil, and Celia were at the water’s edge looking at the Isle as Uma said, “I’ll put a spell on all of you to breathe underwater. I will swim us to the cracks leading to Hades’ cavern.” “And I’ll let my shadows there go so we can get through the cracks,” Celia added. Uma chanted her spell and all four dove into the water. Uma transformed into her sea witch form and helped guide everyone to the cracks under the Isle. Celia pulled her shadows away and Uma, using magic, got everyone through the cracks and into Hades’ cavern. “That was weird,” Gil said. “Indeed,” Harry agreed. “Come on,” Uma said. “We need to gather everyone for the next phase.” They ran to get out of Hades’ cavern to above ground.

Evie and Dude were hiding outside of Ben’s castle. They saw multiple people enter as Evie said, “The ceremony is going to start soon. Where are Carlos and Jay?” She looked around and saw Carlos and Jay running towards her. “What took you two so long?” Evie asked. “Sorry,” Carlos said. “It took the guard a long time to fall asleep using the spray. But here.” He handed Evie her mirror and Evie whispered, “I never thought I would be using this again. Mirror, mirror, in my hand, show us where Ben stands.” The mirror showed Ben Solo being dragged by guards, then it showed Ben’s body lying on a bed where his parents were watching over him, along with Leia and Padme. “Who are those two spirits?” Dude asked. “Probably other Force spirits,” Carlos deduced. “But Ben’s soul still has those cuffs on.” He pulled out the gadget he made and said, “I need to get this on them so he can be freed. We need to keep track of where he’s going so I can shoot this at his cuffs.” “Hopefully Mal’s destruction of the barrier will bee enough of a distraction,” Jay said. “Then when Palpatine is distracted, we can make our move. And hopefully Agathe will make her way to Ben’s body. She said that she will know when the cuffs are gone.” “Where is she anyway?” Evie asked. “Probably in a really good hiding spot,” Carlos suggested.   
“So, how are we going to get in?” Jay asked. Evie smiled as she pulled out some clothes and makeup and said, “That’s where I come in.”

A little while later, the three stood near the entrance looking very different. They were all wearing pastel colors, Evie’s hair was black instead of blue, Carlos’ hair was brown instead of white with black highlights, and Jay’s hair was in a bun. Evie used special makeup that would make people glance over them. “I hope this works,” Jay mumbled. “It will,” Evie hissed. Dude was hiding near the side entrance waiting for Agathe to show up with Hades’ ember, then he would sneak in the way Chewie had so many times before. Evie, Carlos, and Jay took deep breaths and mingled with the crowd going into the castle.

Luke, Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Anakin were hiding near the castle and saw Evie, Carlos, and Jay go in. “They’re in,” Anakin whispered. “Now we wait,” Obi-Wan said. “Cautious, we must be,” Yoda said. “Something dark is coming, I fear.” “Agreed,” Luke said. “If Palpatine decides to unleash his new army, we’ll be ready.” Everyone nodded in agreement.

Uma, Harry, Gil, and Celia had spread word to have everyone gathered near the bridge. The four stood on the balcony overlooking Auradon and Uma shouted, “Citizens of the Isle. I know that all of you are angry they you have been dragged back here. But King Ben was not the one to do it. An evil spirit has taken over the throne and plans to spread his darkness through this world and beyond. We have to stop him.” “Why should we?” one voice in the crowd shouted. “We’re villains. Shouldn’t we allow evil to reign?” “No,” Uma said. “If this evil plan succeeds, we are goners. Everyone.” The crowd murmured as Uma continued, “I know that some of you think that evil should overtake good. But you’re wrong. Auradon was wrong when they thought good should overtake bad. Auradon needs balance. And Ben and Mal wish to bring balance back to this world. That was why they freed us in the first place. Now the king’s life is in danger and our world is threatened. Do you want to rot here and wait for this world to be destroyed or do you want to fight back and take back this world?” The crowd roared, “Fight! Fight!” “Then listen to me,” Uma shouted. “Mal is coming to free all of us again. Once that happens, this is what we do.”

The throne room at Ben’s castle was packed with people, the darkness spread by Palpatine fueling their actions. Fairy Godmother was standing next to the thrones as she was going to officiate the weeding. Jane was close by, blank expressions on hers and her mother’s faces. Chad’s parents, Audrey’s mother, and Audrey’s grandmother stood nearby. Evie, Carlos, and Jay were spread out amongst the crowd observing everything. They saw Doug, Lonnie, and several other Auradon Prep students with their families standing like they were in a trance.

Suddenly trumpets sounded and the doors opened to reveal Chad (Palpatine), wearing the King’s crown, a royal suit, and a cape. Everyone bowed as Chad walked down the aisle, Evie, Carlos, and Jay even had to so that they could blend in. Chad reached the throne and turned to the crowd and said, “Citizens of Auradon. Today is a grand day. Today I start my reign as your king.” The crowd cheered as Chad continued, “Today we will destroy the spirit who tried to cause chaos in Auradon. Guards, bring in the prisoner.”

Another door opened and two guards dragged Solo in and placed him in front of Chad, the crowd murmuring to themselves. “Kylo Ren,” Chad said. “You stand here guilty of treason. Do you have any last words?” Solo looked up at Chad and said, “That’s not my name.” Chad got confused and said, “Yes it is. You are Kylo Ren, Master of the Knights of Ren, Supreme Leader of the First Order…”

“Not anymore,” Solo interrupted causing the crowd to murmur. “Yes, once upon a time, I was Kylo Ren, but not anymore. I renounced the dark side and reutrned to who I was born as, Ben Solo. I sacrificed my life to save the woman I love. I was reborn here as Prince Ben to save this world and bring balance back to it. I’m not the one who wants to cause chaos. That person is you.” The crowd gasped as Solo’s words made the darkness in them weaken. 

But Chad angrily stepped forward and leaned down to Solo. He whispered in his Palpatinee voice, “You won’t win, Skywalker. You are going to watch as I take away your precious kingdom and start my conquest of the galaxy once more. And I will find the other half of the dyad and crush her, wherever she is hiding. I sense that you don’t have much time left as your connection to your vessel is breaking. So I’ll make this good.” He stood up and said in Chad’s voice, “Guards! Hold him over here! He is getting a front seat to witness the start of my new reign before he’s destroyed.”

The two guards dragged Solo off to the side. Carlos saw this and slowly moved toward Solo so he could get in range to fire his gadget at Solo’s cuffs. 

Trumpets sounded as the main doors opened with Audrey on the other side, looking regal. Her father was standing next to her, ready to escort her down the aisle. They both slowly started to make their way down the aisle with everyone bowing as they walked past. They came up to Chad and looked up at him. Evie pulled out her magic mirror and whispered, “Mirror, mirror, tell her it’s time to begin.”

Meanwhile, Mal was standing on a cliff overlooking the Isle with Agathe standing next to her. “So,” Agathe said. “Since you have reawakened, do you want to call yourself Rey again or are you going to stick with Mal?” “Haven’t thought about that yet,” Mal answered. “Right now, I just want to get Auradon back.” 

Suddenly they saw a flash of light in the sky and Agathe said, “It’s time. Evie’s sent the signal. I’ll go to the castle and find Ben’s vessel. Now remember, keep yourself closed off from the Force until after Ben’s soul is reunited with his vessel.” “Got it,” Mal said. “Time to stretch my wings.” Purple mist surrounded her and she transformed into a dragon and took off to the skies towards the Isle. She held Hades’ ember in her claw and when she arrived over the Isle, she sent a blast from the ember to the barrier and shattered it. 

The citizens of the Isle saw this as Uma shouted, “We have been freed. Now, let’s take back Auradon!” The crowd cheered and rushed off the Isle on the bridge lending back to Auradon. Uma turned to Harry, Gil, and Celia and said, “You three need to get to Ben’s castle. Now!” Harry, Gil, and Celia nodded and ran off the Isle. Uma ran to the ocean and dove in, disappearing underneath the waves.

Back in the throne room, Prince Phillip gave Audrey to Chad and walked over to his wife. Chad took Audrey’s arm into his and they both faced Fairy Godmother, who said, “Today we unite these two in holy matrimony. King Chad, do you take Princess Audrey to be your wife and Queen. “I do,” Chad said quickly. “And,” Fairy Godmother turned to Audrey. “Do you, Princess Audrey, take King Chad to be your husband and king?” “I do,” Audrey said without hesitation. “Then,” Fairy Godmother said as Jane handed her the Queen’s crown. “By the power vested in me, I hereby…”

Suddenly the main doors opened and a guard came running in shouting, “Your Majesty!” Chad growled, turned to the guard and shouted, “What? You just interrupted an important ceremony!” “But,” the guard said. “The barrier around the Isle has been broken.” “What?” Chad shouted, his eyes turning yellow for a second, the crowd gasping as the darkness in the room fed on their fear to power itself. Audrey huffed as Chad marched forward to the guard and got in his face shouting, “How? What happened?” “It appears,” The guard answered. “That Mal has destroyed it in her dragon form. And the people on the Isle are coming this way.”

Carlos meanwhile used this distraction to make his way towards Solo, who was being held by the two guards. Solo was smiling at the mention of Mal messing with Palpatine’s plans. He noticed movement and looked over and saw Carlos, even through his disguise, slowly making his way toward him. He noticed a gadget in Carlos’ hand and Solo thought, “He must have designed something that will unlock these cuffs. Good.” 

Chad turned and walked back up to the throne. He sat down on the throne and looked at Audrey, who was standing there with a scowl on her face. “My dear,” Chad said. “Come sit with me.” Audrey took the crown from Fairy Godmother and put in on her head before she sat on the throne next to him. “I apologize that the ceremony was interrupted, but you are now my Queen.” Audrey smiled a creepy smile and said, “Thank you, my King.” 

Chad then turned to the crowd and said, “And now, as a gift for my bride, I want to unveil the first of my new armada.” Evie then whispered into her mirror, “Mirror, mirror, let them know it’s happening.” Chad then raised his hand into the air and closed his eyes. 

Suddenly the earth began to tremble and everyone in the throne room felt it. Outside, 9 Star Destroyers rose from the ground getting bigger as they rose to the sky. On them were mindless drones manning each part of every Destroyer. Also, mindless clones were rising from the ground, breaking the earth as they came up. They formed into a military lane outside the castle, blasters in their hands, ready for battle.

In the throne room, computers materialized out of nowhere showing everyone the new armada for the first time. Chad opened his eyes and said, “9 ships now fly in the sky, with more on the way. And right now in front of this castle is my new army. Ready at my command. The ships will deal with Mal and take off towards space and my army will take care of the people of the Isle coming this way. Today is the start of my new Empire with Auradon as its capital!” The crowd mindlessly cheered, Solo growling in frustration and Evie, Carlos, and Jay looking worried but hopeful that the plan will continue smoothly.

Dragon Mal, still up in the sky, saw the citizens of the Isle charge off the Isle towards Auradon. Suddenly she saw 9 giant Star Destroyers emerge from the ground, heading up into the atmosphere. She looked down at the ember in her claws and magically sent the ember to Agathe, who was on the ground at the cliff Mal took off from and Agathe then magically teleported to where Dude was hiding. Dude saw the Enchantress and asked, “Do you have it?” Agathe nodded and put the ember in a locket then tied it to Dude’s collar. “Now,” Agathe said. “I can sense that Hades is still in the dungeon. You need to sneak in there and give him the ember. Then tell him this.” She leaned down and whispered in Dude’s ear. She pulled away and the dog nodded. “Now, go,” Agathe said and the dog took off, looking for the secret entrance that Chewie showed up long ago. Agathe looked up at the roof and muttered, “Now it’s time to face a man I have not seen in over 20 years.” She looked over and saw the clones springing up from the ground, so she magically snuck around to the rose garden and entered the castle that way, as they was no focus in that part of the castle at the moment.

She walked through the halls towards her destination. When she came across a guard, she waved her hand and the guard was knocked out. She came up to the door leading to Adam and Belle’s suite and knocked out the guards with her magic.

Adam and Belle heard the noise from inside their room. Leia and Padme looked up and Leia smiled saying, “It’s about time she got here.” “Who?” Adam asked. Suddenly the doors opened on their own and Agathe walked through. Adam stood in front of Belle and shouted, “You! You have a lot of nerve showing up here after everything that you did.” “And what did I do, Adam?” Agathe asked. “You are the cause to all of this!” Adam shouted. “If you didn’t put that spirit in my son, then none of this would of happened.” “Adam!” Belle shouted. Agathe sighed and turned to Leia and Padme and asked, “Did either of you two explain the situation to him at all?” “I did,” Leia answered. “But he’s stubborn. Like he’s always been over the years.” Agathe sighed and stepped forward saying, “Then, Adam, it was explained to you that I had nothing to do with the magic of this world punishing you for what you did. If I didn’t step in and have Ben Solo reborn as your son, you would not have a son at all!” 

Adam stepped backwards in shock as Belle stepped forward and said, “Please. Can you save my son?” Agathe looked at Ben’s body and said, “I can merge Ben’s soul back into his vessel. But I can’t do that until he is freed from his chains. Those cuffs he wears right now as we speak are blocking his connection to the Force and to the magic of this world.”

“Why?” Adam asked. “Why would you send a spirit to be reborn as my son?” Agathe turned and looked at Adam and said, “It wasn’t my choice. It was Ben’s. When his spirit first arrived here, I told him everything about this world and I gave him a choice. Either he could be reborn as your son or you would not have an heir and the crown would pass on to someone else, someone that would bring more chaos to Auradon. He wanted a second chance at life, based on a wish made long ago by his other half. You gave him that second chance. He loves both of you very much, I have seen that. He is happy with the life you two gave him. But he is also here to fix your mistakes, Adam. But no matter what, he is still your son.” 

Adam stood there for a moment processing all of this. Belle took his hand and said, “He is still our son, Adam. Yes, he kept all of this from us, but he is still the son we love.” Adam looked into Belle’s eyes and said, “You are always right, my dear.” He looked up at Agathe and said, “Please help my son.” 

Agathe nodded and turned to Leia and said, “Leia. I can take over here. You need to help get Ben’s soul here when he is freed. Keep your eyes on Carlos.” Leia nodded and stood up. She phased out of the room as Agathe stood next to the bed. “Time is growing short.” Padme said. “I cann feel that Ben doesn’t have a lot of time left before the connection is broken between his spirit and his body. They must hurry.”

The VKs, led by Harry, Gil, and Celia, ran through the streets of Auradon towards the castle. Harry especially wanted to get there so he could get his girl back. But they suddenly stopped when they saw Palpatine’s clone army in front of them, guarding the castle. “Who are those ugly people?” Gil asked. “That would be the army Mal detected,” Celia said. “And they have weapons,” Harry added. The army noticed them and turned toward them.

Chad (Palpatine) saw this on the computer screens in the throne room. The crowd saw it too. “My army,” Chad said. “Take out those villains.” 

The army marched forward towards the VKs, guns pointing at them. But suddenly Luke, Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Yoda appeared between the two groups with lightsabers in their hands. 

“What?” Chad shouted as he stared at the screen. Solo smirked to himself.

“If you want these villains as you call them,” Luke shouted. “Then your army has to get through us.” The army started to open fire and the Force spirits blocked every shot back to the clones and one by one the clones turned to dust from the rebound shots. Anakin turned back to the VKs and shouted, “You three! Take your group and go around. We’ll handle this.” Harry, Gil, and Celia nodded and led the group around the army while it was distracted by the Force spirits.

Chad growled as Audrey stared at the screen. She saw Harry on the screen at the head of the VK group and the little voice in her head said, “There. That is the person you are meant to be with. Not this usurper. This isn’t you. Fight it.” Audrey shook her head to block out the voice as Chad shouted, “Guards. Bring forward the prisoner.” The two guards dragged Solo back toward the thrones, much to Carlos’ irritation as he was almost close enough to Solo to fire the gadget at his cuffs. 

Chad stared down at Solo and said, “Before your destruction, I want you to watch as my armada takes to the skies towards new planets, new galaxies.” Solo stared up at the screen as the 9 Star Destroyers were flying high in the atmosphere.

But one of them was suddenly engulfed in flames and slowly fell towards the Earth. Chad growled and saw on the screen that dragon Mal shot a blast of magical fire at one of the Star Destroyers and destroyed it herself. Solo smirked as Chad shouted into the computers, “Alert! Destroy that dragon. Use all firepower you have.” Solo heard this and shouted, “No!”

The 8 remaining Star Destroyers started to fly towards dragon Mal. They fired lasers at her and she had to dodge each one and couldn’t get another shot in. One laser nearly grazed her wing.

But then a laser fired at one of the Destroyers, wrecking part of its weapons. Dragon Mal turned and saw the Millennium Falcon along with some X-wings. She heard Han’s voice shouting, “Over here, nerfherders!” Chewie was sitting next to him in the cockpit of the Falcon and roared. Finn, Poe, Rose, and Maz were in the X-wings surrounding the Falcon. “Red 1 standing by,” Finn said. “Red 2 standing by and ready for some take down,” Poe said. “Red 3 standing by,” Rose said. “And Red 4 standing by,” Maz said. Several Star Destroyers sent out TIE fighters to take care of the ships and the X-wings and Millennium Falcon took off and started the aerial dog fight.

Down below, Uma rose up from the water in her sea witch form and she summoned the trident from her shell necklace. “Mal!” Uma shouted. “We’ve got this. Go!” Dragon Mal roared as she flew towards Ben’s castle. Uma used the trident to summon storm clouds and sent lightning at one Destroyer, blowing it up.

Back in the throne room, Chad growled and shouted, “Where did they come from?” Chad marched up to Solo and said, “I had a feeling other spirits helped you. But they can’t help you now. Tell me, where is your other half?” Solo looked up at Chad and kept his mouth shut. “Fine,” Chad scowled. He turned to Fairy Godmother and said, “Make him tell me.” Solo looked up in shock. Sure he was immune to magic, but since he had the cuffs on, that immunity has been thrown out the window. Fairy Godmother stepped in front of Solo and held out her wand.

But before she could say her magic words, Evie muttered into her mirror, “Mirror, mirror, shine a bright light!” Evie held the mirror towards Fairy Godmother and blinded the woman. Jay used this distraction and easily moved through the crowd and jumped over Fairy Godmother, snatching the wand from her. Carlos put the gadget in a sling shot and fired it right at Solo’s cuffs, hitting right on target. Solo looked down and saw the gadget latch on and he heard gears moving and the cuffs unlocked and fell at his feet. 

“You brats!” Chad shouted as Audrey stood up and ran next to Chad. “My fellow citizens. Get those villains for me.” Everyone in the crowd mindlessly turned toward Evie, Carlos, and Jay and started to run towards them. “Over here!” Evie shouted and Carlos and Jay fought their way towards Evie. “Give me the wand,” Evie told Jay and Jay handed it to her. She called on its magic and formed a barrier around the three, with the mind controlled people pounding on it, darkness coming out of them, Doug, Jane, and Lonnie right in the front staring down the three with dark eyes. 

Solo tried to stand, but he was weak from being cuffed for so long and from being away from his body too long. He heard Chad cackling and looked up to see the possessed king walking towards him. “You may be free from your chains,” Chad said. “But you’re not free from me. You never were, Skywalker.” He held up his hand and lightning formed in it. “If you won’t tell me where my granddaughter is, then you and your pathetic friends will suffer!” He sent a lightning attack at Evie, Carlos, and Jay, blasting a big hole in their barrier. He sent another lightning attack at Solo, hitting him dead on. Solo cried out in pain as Chad laughed evilly, Audrey standing there with dark eyes looking down at Solo. 

Chad prepared another attack and sent it at Solo, but Leia appeared in front of him and blocked it, glaring at Chad. “You are done harming my family, Palpatine!” Leia shouted. “One half of Vader’s offspring,” Chad commented. “Finally protecting her son from big bad me. And you couldn’t even sense me when I was in your boy’s head all those years ago. Feel the guilt?” Leia glared at Chad and said, “Your time has ended, Palpatine. Leave this place.” “Or what?” Chad taunted. 

Suddenly they heard a dragon’s roar in the distance and Leia smiled saying, “You’re doomed.” Dragon Mal crashed through the large window in the throne room and landed in between Evie, Carlos, and Jay and the mind controlled crowd. She roared loudly, causing people to cover their ears. Leia used this distraction and helped Solo to his feet and they both disappeared. “No!” Chad shouted. Dragon Mal glared at Chad and Chad shouted, “You will pay for this, fairy child!” Dragon Mal flapped her wings and sent the mind controlled citizens of Auradon to the floor. Evie let down the barrier and she, Carlos, and Jay ran to dragon Mal’s side.

Suddenly the doors opened and in rushed the VKs, Harry, Gil, and Celia in the front. “Give me back my gal you monster!” Harry shouted. Audrey saw Harry at the other end of the room and the voice in her head shouted, “There he is! Go to him!” But Chad stepped in front of Audrey and said, “She’s mine, pirate! You’ll have to get past my army to get to her!” 

He raised his hands and more clones rose from underneath the ground, breaking through the floor, but they looked more monstrous than the first bunch. “It’s a shame they aren’t finished yet,” Chad commented. “But they can still take you down. Army! Get rid of those villains and destroy that dragon!” Dragon Mal roared as Celia shouted, “Charge!” The VKs charged in and started to fight off the monsters as Dragon Mal used her size to knock clones away.

While all of this was happening, Dude was sneaking through the different hallways in the castle towards the dungeons. He found the door, but didn’t know how to get it. “Rats!” Dude said. Suddenly he heard someone from the other side come to open the door and hid off to the side. The door opened and a guard came out saying, “Who’s there?” As the guard was looking around, Dude snuck by him and into the dungeons.

Hades was sitting in his cell trying to figure out what the heck was going on. He has heard people running, screaming, and he felt huge tremors in the Earth. “Will someone tell me what’s going on?” Hades shouted. 

“I can.” Hades looked down and saw Dude standing in front of his cell. “You’re Carlos’ dog, aren’t you?” Hades asked. Dude nodded his head and said, “Yep. Mal sent me here to give you this back.” He nodded to the locket on his collar and Hades reached through his cell bars and got it. He opened it and saw his ember. “She’s giving this back?” Hades asked. Dude nodded and said, “Yep. Mal destroyed the new barrier with it. She gave it to Agathe, who gave it to me, so I can give it to you. And I have to tell you something that Agathe wants you to do.” “Go on,” Hades said as he took the ember out and his hair went aflame.

Leia arrived with Solo back in Adam and Belle’s suite where Agathe was waiting. “Well done, Leia,” Agathe said. Leia smiled as she stepped away from Solo, who looked up and saw Padme sitting next to his body, and Adam and Belle staring down at him. Solo stood up shakily and said, “I know that you two deserve an explanation….” “We already have,” Adam said. “Both Agathe and…your original mother explained everything.” Solo sighed and said, “I am sorry. For everything. I am sorry that I lied to both of you for so long. If you don’t want me to be your son anymore, then I understand.” Some tears started to fall down Solo’s face as Belle stepped forward and hugged him, surprising the spirit. “You are my son,” Belle said. “You made that happen. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have a child. You are my child, Ben. Reborn soul or not. You are my pride and joy.” Belle’s eyes were misty with tears as Solo hugged her back. Belle pulled away and turned to Adam and asked, “Do you have anything to say to our son?” 

Adam stepped forward and said, “I am sorry. That I didn’t defend you against Chad…..Palpatine. I didn’t have faith in you like a father should to his son. You are my son. And I love you.” Solo sucked in a breath as Adam came over and hugged him. He was surprised that his dad, as tempered as he is, still loved him despite everything. Solo hugged him back and whispered, “I love you too, Dad.” Adam pulled away and said, “I am shocked that you are taller than me in this form.” Solo chuckled and said, “Yea. I may not have this height now, but at least I don’t have these ears.”

Agathe stepped forward and said, “As much as this is touching, we are on a deadline. You need to merge back with your body before it’s too late and you need to help stop Palpatine.” “Right,” Solo said. “Do it.” Agathe nodded and started her spell. Adam and Bellee stood there in awe as Solo disappeared into his vessel. Agathe stopped the chanting and Ben opened his eyes on the bed. Padme looked down at Ben and said, “Welcome back, my grandson.” Belle ran over and hugged Ben, “You’re OK.” Ben chuckled as he sat up saying, “Yea. Still getting my strength back. But we need to get to the throne room. The citizens from the Isle along with Mal are fighting Palpatine’s monster army. I need to go!” “We will accompany you,” Leia said as she and Padme disappeared into Ben’s body causing Adam and Belle to gasp. Ben sighed and said, “Yea. I bet you seeing that I have spirits in my head is weird. But we have to go. Now!” 

The battle of the Star Destroyers was still going on as the Millennium Falcon and X-wings gunned down several TIE fighters and Uma destroyed two more Destroyers. “We need to finish this now!” Poe shouted. Uma then got an idea and said, “All of you pull back. I have an idea.” “You heard the lady,” Han shouted as the Millennium Falcon and X-wings pulled away. Uma raised the trident to the skies and summoned massive lightning down on all of the TIE fighters and the remaining Destroyers, blasting them to smithereens. Uma shouted to the sky, “I’ll go to the castle. You all fly there and surround it.” Uma swam to the land and changed back into her normal self, still holding the trident, and ran to the castle while the spaceships flew overhead.

The throne room was still in chaos as dragon Mal and the VKs fought against the monster clones as the monsters dwindled down to none. Chad look over at the computers and saw the destruction of the rest of his armada. He screamed with fury and shouted, “Enough!” He released a massive lightning attack at the VKs, but dragon Mal flew in front of them and took the full force of the attack. She fell to the ground and transformed back into her normal self, unconscious. Evie, Carlos, and Jay tried to run over to her, but Chad Forced pushed them towards one of the walls. They collided with the ground, Evie holding her mirror and the wand firmly in her hands as she fell. Chad then Force pushed the rest of the VKs towards the walls of the room, leaving Mal alone in the middle.

Chad laughed evilly as he walked towards her. Audrey sneered and said, “Serves her right. Traitor! Make her suffer, my dear.” Harry, from his spot on the floor, heard this and silently started to make his way toward the thrones without being noticed. “Gladly, my Queen,” Chad said as he raised his hand and summoned a sword from one of the knights of armor in the room. Mal was starting to wake up as Chad said, “Goodbye, fairy child.” 

Chad raised his sword and swung down, but suddenly he was thrown away from Mal back towards the thrones, hitting the ground and the crown on his head knocked off, rolling towards Audrey. Chad groaned as he looked over and saw Ben standing near a doorway with Adam, Belle, and Agathe standing behind him. Ben’s hand was raised towards Mal showing that he was the one to Force push Chad away from Mal. Ben used the Force to jump and land next to Mal. He knelt down to the ground and whispered, “Mal? Are you OK?” Mal mumbled a little as Ben smiled, glad to see that she was all right. He looked over at Evie, Carlos, and Jay and said, “Get to Doug, Jane, and Lonnie. You three can rid them of this darkness.” Evie, Carlos, and Jay nodded and ran towards their loved ones. 

Evie ran over to where Doug was lying down and kissed him firmly on the lips. Doug woke up and mumbled, “Evie? Is that you?” Evie nodded, tears coming to her eyes and hugged Doug, whiteout dropping her mirror or the wand.

Carlos ran over to Jane and cradled her in his arms, kissing her lightly. Jane opened her eyes and said, “Carlos. You came for me.” Carlos nodded and put his forehead against hers, whispering, “I am just happy that I got you back.”

Jay slid on the ground and picked up Lonnie, giving her a quick kiss on the lips to wake her up. Lonnie looked up at Jay and asked, “What took you so long?” Jay chuckled and held Lonnie tightly in his arms. 

Chad growled as he stood back up, not caring that Audrey was trying to help him back up. Ben turned and glared at Chad saying, “Give me back my kingdom, Palpatine. And get out of Chad. Now!” Chad laughed evilly and said, “No can do, Skywalker. You will never get your kingdom back. Especially since I exposed you to everyone here.” The mind controlled people started to wake up fully, but Agathe used her magic to eliminate the darkness put on them by Palpatine. They looked up and saw Ben and Chad staring at each other. 

Ben then said, “You’re right.” Chad got puzzled as Ben continued, “Even when you are defeated, I may not become King of Auradon again. That depends on what the kingdom wants. Yes I am Ben of Auradon. But that is only one part of who I am.”

Gold mist surrounded Ben and he turned into Ben Solo, dark Gary robes and all, holding his lightsaber in his hands. The crowd gasped as Ben finished, “I am also Benjamin Organa-Skywalker-Solo, formerly known as Kylo Ren. Yes I have done bad things in the past, no thanks to you, but I have been reborn here to become a better person and have a second chance at life. And I will protect my kingdom from you.” Ben ignited his lightsaber and pointed it at Chad.

Chad laughed evilly as he summoned the sword next to him and changed it into a lightsaber and ignited it and charged in at Ben Solo and the two started their duel. 

Evie ran over to Fairy Godmother along with Doug and Agathe released her from Palpatine’s hold. “My goodness,” Fairy Godmother said. “That was awful.” Evie handed her the wand and said, “Here. Sorry that we took it.” “Quite alright,” Fairy Godmother said. “We must hurry,” Agathe said. “Palpatine still has affected this world with his dark magic and there are more clones and parts of his armada being created underground. We must combine our magic to destroy it.” Fairy Godmother nodded and the two magic users joined hands and closed their eyes, sending magic underground. Carlos, Jane, Jay, Lonnie, Gil, and Celia ran over and Carlos said, “We have to protect them while they do this. Maybe I can access these computers and try to shut them down. That might help.” He ran over to the computers and typed away as the others looked over and saw Ben Solo and Chad fighting with lightsabers. 

Chad pushed Ben towards the thrones and swung his lightsaber down, but Ben blocked him, holding the lightsaber back from his head. Audrey saw another sword lying nearby and walked over and picked it up. She started towards Ben and Chad, but then she felt someone grab her arm and she was pulled away. She looked up and saw Harry looking down at her and said, “Audrey. Stop this. Please. This isn’t you.” Audrey growled and said, “This is me. I am meant to be Queen of Auradon. And you…” Harry interrupted her by leaning down and kissing her. Audrey tried to pull away, but Harry held her firmly in his arms. The magic from the kiss started to melt the darkness away in her and Audrey started to reciprocate the kiss and her hair turned back into its blonde shade. Harry pulled away and he saw the spark in Audrey’s eyes again. “Harry,” Audrey whispered. Harry smiled and said, “I missed you.” “Thank you,” Audrey said, leaning her forehead against his. 

Chad felt the magic of the kiss and looked over and saw that Harry had broken through and freed Audrey. He tried to push Ben aside and get to her, but Ben jumped in front of him and said, “You done enough damage to her. Leave her alone.” Chad got angry and charged at the three, but then he was blasted off his feet into a wall nearby next to some ash remains of his monster clones. Ben looked over and saw Uma standing there holding the trident towards him. “Thought you could use a hand,” Uma said. Chad stood up from the ground and shouted, “You! After everything I did to help you against your enemy. And this is the thanks I get?” Uma chuckled and said, “Shut up, Gramps.” Chad growled and jumped toward Uma, but Ben intercepted and shouted, “Uma, go!” Uma ran towards the other VKs and Celia asked, “Can you help Agathe and Fairy Godmother?” Uma looked at the trident and said, “I could try.” The trident glowed in her hands and she sent the magic into the earth.

Chad looked over and saw what the three magic users were doing and chuckled, “They aren’t enough. The magic of this world is no match for the powers of the Force. I’ll show them that.” He summoned lightning and shot it at the three magic ladies, but Ben jumped in the way and took the full blast. His lightsaber deactivated and he fell to the ground in pain.

Mal fully woke after being blasted by lightning and looked up in time to see Ben, or rather him in his Ben Solo form, get blasted with lightning. She struggled to stand as Chad walked over to Ben and said, “Pathetic Skywalker. I should have made sure I ended you all those years ago. Time to fix my mistake and finish the dyad once and for all!” 

“Hey!” Mal shouted making Chad turn around and Ben looked up at Mal weakly. “You’ve done him and his family enough harm. This ends now, Palpatine.” Chad laughed and said, “Pitiful fairy child. You and your magic are no match against me.” Mal smirked and said, “Think again.” Suddenly gold mist surrounded her as she used the trick Ben showed her and turned into a form that Ben Solo hasn’t seen in over 20 years. “Rey,” Ben whispered as Rey stood there in the gray outfit she wore when they took down Snoke, her brown hair in its traditional 3 buns, and her new lightsaber in her hand. Rey smiled and said in her original voice, “Surprise, old man.” Chad stood there and said, “Granddaughter. I should have known that the girl Ben cared for so much here was you. You hid yourself well. But it’s time to end you once and for all.” Rey ignited her lightsaber and said, “You first. But you need to let Chad go. Face me, coward.” Chad laughed evilly and said, “You can’t force my spirit out of this vessel. Even with your other half of the dyad.” Rey smirked and said, “I can actually. But that honor belongs to someone else.” 

Suddenly Chad fell to the ground and clenched his chest. Rey looked over and saw Hades standing next to Adam and Belle, holding his ember towards Chad. Hades smirked and said, “Payback time, old man. You mess with my daughter, you mess with me.” Chad started to convulse and a ball of light emerged out of his body and Chad fell to the ground unconscious. The ball of light formed into Palpatine, dark cloak and all, and the people of Auradon gasped and stepped backwards in fright. Palpatine looked up and said, “You may have separated me from that pitiful vessel, but I am still the most powerful Force user in existence.” He sent lightning at Hades, but Rey and Ben jumped in front and blocked it with their lightsabers. Ben looked down at Rey and said, “Welcome back, Rey. I have missed that accent of yours.” “It’s good to be back,” Rey said. “And I do love hearing your deep voice. Now, let’s finish him. Together this time.” Ben nodded and he and Rey charged in and Palpatine pulled out his lightsaber and another duel began.

Two purple lightsabers clashed against a red one, both sides powerful with the Force. Hades ran over to Agathe and asked, “What is happening?” Agathe opened her eyes and answered, “More of Palpatine’s armada and army are growing underground. We are trying to use our magic to destroy it. But it is powerful.” Hades smirked and grabbed her hand and said, “Then maybe you need some godly power to help you.” He clutched his ember in his other hand and sent its power into the Earth, feeling the clones cry in agony and the ships being destroyed.

Ben and Rey continued to fight Palpatine, who was blocking all of their moves. Palpatine cackled evilly and said, “You two have never been a match for me.” “We beg to differ,” Ben retorted. “If I recall,” Rey added. “You have already been defeated. Twice.” Palpatine growled and said, “But there is one major difference. You have compassion for others. I do not.” He then suddenly used the Force to bring some of the ceiling down on where Evie, Carlos, Jay, Doug, Jane, Lonnie, Uma, Celia, Harry, Gil, Audrey, Agathe, Hades, and Fairy Godmother were standing. Ben and Rey raised their hands towards the falling ceiling and stopped it with the Force and tossed it aside. Palaptine used this distraction to blast both of them with lightning, knocking the dyad to the ground.

Palpatine walked towards them and said, “You see? You care too much for others and that will always distract you. It’s your weakness. I know that those people are trying to destroy my armada and army. And I know that there are some ships, including that miserable Millennium Falcon are flying right outside ready to attack. But they all will fail. I am the Emperor, ruler of the Sith and the greatest power in all the galaxy.” He raised his hand and lifted Ben and Rey using the Force up a little ways into the air. “But you two. The long lost dyad. Two that are one. A power like life itself. I may have needed to use a vessel to start my new reign, but now, the power of two will restore the one, true Emperor.” 

He raised both hands towards Ben and Rey and started to suck the life force out of both of them. Agathe and Hades saw this and tried to send magic to stop Palpatine, but it bounced right off of him. Ben looked over at Rey and said, “He can’t do this. Not again. We have to fight back. Together.” Rey thought for a moment and said, “Maybe not just us. We are the balance of the Force. Let’s use that balance and finish him off for good.” Ben and Rey grabbed each other’s hands. They closed their eyes and focused on the Force. Palpatine laughed evilly as his spirit form was slowly turning into flesh as he shouted, “I am all of the Sith. My power will reign supreme!” 

“Last time,” Rey answered back. “I said I was all of the Jedi. I was wrong. I am not a Jedi. But I am not a Sith. I am the gray. The balance. Along with the other half of the dyad. We are one with the Force. And the Force is one with us.” Suddenly Luke, Leia, Anakin, Padme, Han, Obi-Wan, Yoda, Finn, Poe, Rose, Maz, and several others from Rey and Ben’s past appeared around them as Force spirits. “What is this?” Palpatine shouted. Luke smirked and said, “You have done enough damage, Palpatine. To the galaxy. To my family.” “I didn’t make sure that you were destroyed when I threw you down that shaft,” Anakin added. “This time, I will make sure you are gone for good.” Palpatine cackled, but then a gold light shone around Rey and Ben, which spread to all the Force spirits and all of the citizens of Auradon that were in the room.

“What’s happening?” Palpatine croaked out as his flesh was turning back into a spirit. “Your trick you used last time can’t work twice,” Yoda commented. “We are drawing power from you,” Obi-Wan added. “Until you are dust underneath our feet,” Leia said. 

Ben and Rey opened their eyes, which were glowing gold, and they said together, “Sheev Palpatine. You have disturbed the natural balance for the last time. No more will the Force aid you in your conquest for power. You will be no more.” They raised their hands towards Palpatine, channeled all the Force and magic from everyone in the room and the Force itself right into Palpatine. The old spirit screamed in agony as his spirit was shredding right before everyone’s eyes. Ben and Rey’s power was also going into the Earth, aiding in the destruction of Palpatine’s growing armada and army, wiping them from existence and returning the Earth back to normal. Palpatine screamed his last as he was reduced to nothing, his spirit destroyed forever.

The space ships flying outside the castle disappeared one by one, Chewie was the only person still in one of them. When the Millennium Falcon disappeared, he fell to the ground, unharmed. He got up and ran to the castle.

The golden glow of the throne room died down and Uma, Agathe, Fairy Godmother, and Hades released their magic, feeling that Palpatine’s forces were destroyed. The Force spirits disappeared around Ben and Rey as they gently come down to the ground. They looked at each other with love in their eyes. But then they fell to the ground, unconscious and close to death. 

Adam and Belle saw this from their side of the room and ran over to Ben while Hades and the VKs ran over to Rey. “Ben,” Belle said as she kneeled to the ground and cradled Ben’s head. “Sweetheart. Wake up. Please. You did it. You saved Auradon.” Adam kneeled next to his wife and said, “Come back to us, son.” Hades kneeled next to Rey and cradled her head and said, “Rey. My sunshine. Open your eyes. I just got you back. Don’t leave me.” Evie, Carlos, and Jay started to cry and Uma, Harry, Gil, and Celia stood there in silence, trying to fight back tears. Chewbacca barged into the room, startling the other people in the room watching from the sides, as the Wookiee ran over and saw the dyad lying on the ground. He roared a mournful cry.

Agathe walked over and said, “They used up their life energy to channel all of the Force and all of the magic of this world to destroy Palpatine once and for all. They’re slipping away.” “Isn’t there anything you can do?” Adam asked. Agathe smiled and said, “There is one thing.” She waved her hand and the Force spirits of Luke, Leia, Han, Anakin, Padme, Obi-Wan, Yoda, Finn, Poe, Rose, and Maz appeared next to everyone. The Force spirits raised their hands towards the dyad as Agathe explained, “The Force does want to make sure that Rey’s wish comes true.” Energy flew into Ben and Rey, with everyone around them hoping that they would wake up. After a while, the Force spirits put their hands down.

Ben opened his eyes and saw his parents above him. “Mom? Dad?” Belle cried and hugged her son, Adam crying silently behind her. “My baby!” Belle cried. Ben looked over and saw Rey waking up, which made Hades start to cry. Rey opened her eyes and mumbled, “Dad?” Hades hugged his daughter and cried, “You’re alright, my Rey. You’re safe.” Rey looked over and saw Ben looking down at her. Rey pulled away from Hades and pulled Ben into a hug. “You’re here,” Ben whispered. “You’ve reawakened. We’re together again.” Rey pulled away and said, “I was always here, Ben. It just took some time to regain what I had lost. But I am whole again. And our bond has reforged. The dyad has reunited at long last. Thank you for waiting for me, Ben Solo.” Ben smiled and said, “I would wait another 100 lifetimes for you, Rey.” He leaned in and kissed Rey on the lips, which she happily reciprocated. 

A gold mist surrounded the dyad causing the people around them to step back. When the mist dissipated, they didn’t see Ben Solo and Rey. Instead sat the King of Auradon in his royal suit and honey brown hair and his purple haired fairy princess. The royal couple pulled away from their kiss and saw that they returned as their Auradon selves. Ben stood up and reached his hand down to Mal and helped her to stand. 

The VKs ran over and hugged the couple, glad to see that they were alright. Dude came bounding in, barking up a storm. As the VKs pulled away, Chewbacca grabbed both Ben and Mal and pulled them into a bear hug. He released them a little while later and Evie said, “Never do that again, Mal. You had all of us worried.” Mal chuckled and said, “Don’t worry. I don’t think an evil Sith spirit will be coming to Auradon any time soon.” “So,” Uma said. “Now that you got your memories and Force powers back, what should we call you. Mal or Rey?” “I am Rey,” Mal said. “But I am also Mal of the Isle. I am both.” “Same with me,” Ben added. “I am Ben of Auradon. But I am also Ben Solo. We are one and the same.” “So,” Mal said. “You can call me whichever. I will reply to both.” “Then I’ll just stick with Mal,” Uma said. “Since that’s what I’ve called you for so long.” The other VKs nodded in agreement. “I always call you Rey,” Hades said. “So I’m sticking with that.” Mal giggled and hugged her dad.

Ben turned to the Force spirits behind him and said, “Thank you. All of you. For what you have done.” “It was our pleasure,” Luke said. “But now we must go.” Mal turned and asked, “What do you mean?” “We were only meant to be with Ben until you reawakened,” Leia answered. “Now that you have, you don’t need us anymore.” “But,” Ben said. “I always need you.” “Kid,” Han said. “I don’t think you want to have us hanging around in your head forever. Our time has come.” “But we’ll still be around,” Anakin said. “Since the Force is still a thing.” “So we will always be with you in spirit,” Padme said. “And you can call on us at any time,” Maz said. “That’s what the Force does,” Finn said. “But C-3PO, R2-D2, and BB-8 will still be in your secret room,” Poe said. “So they can help keep you company if you need it,” Rose said. "And Chewie will still be here with you to keep an eye on you two," Han said, causing Chewbacca to roar with glee. “I understand,” Ben said. “We’ll see you around,” Mal said. “May the Force be with you,” all the Force spirits said before they disappeared.

Over by the thrones, Chad started to wake up and he looked around the room. “What happened,” Chad mumbled. Audrey walked over to Chad and asked, “Do you remember anything?” “Pieces,” Chad said. “I remember running out into the forest. Then there was that old creepy guy. Then nothing.” He saw the King’s crown in Audrey’s hand and asked, “Am I king now or something? And you’re wearing the Queen’s crown. Are you my queen?” Audrey sighed and took off the Queen’s crown and said, “I am not your Queen. I am not meant to be Queen of Auradon. And I am fine with that.” “And,” Fairy Godmother said while walking over, “This wedding ceremony wasn’t finalized, so it never happened.”

Ben broke away from the crowd around him and walked over to Chad and said, “You were possessed by an evil spirit, who exposed my other side to everyone and made himself king in your name.” “Really?” Chad asked. “I kind of remember that happening. But it felt like a dream.” Ben sighed and looked at Fairy Godmother and said, “He was crowned as King. Therefore I am not King of Auradon anymore.” “Not necessarily,” Fairy Godmother said. “You by all rights won back the crown. Since it was forcibly taken from you in the first place. It’s yours.” Ben looked out at the crowd, who were all staring at him. 

He sighed and said, “I am sorry that I lied to you. The people of Auradon. It is true that I am a reborn soul. Like Mal is. But I am not here to cause chaos. I am here to fix the mistakes of the past and bring balance back to this world. I will leave the choice to you. If you do not want me to be your king, then I will step down and hand it off to the next heir, Prince Chad.” People started to murmur. Doug stepped forward and said, “I vote for Ben to become King again.” “So do I,” Jane agreed. “So do I,” Lonnie added. More voices from the crowd voiced their voice to put Ben back on the throne and the entire room shouted his praise. “I vote for Ben to regain his throne,” Audrey shouted, her parents and grandmother agreeing. Chad nodded his head for his yes vote. The VKs shouted their votes for yes. Mal stood there smiling at Ben. Fairy Godmother then said, “It’s decided.” She took the King’s crown from Audrey and said, “You are hereby reinstated as King of Auradon.” She put the crown on Ben’s head as the crowd clapped and they bowed to King Ben. 

Ben then held out his hand towards Mal, who walked forward and took it, coming up to where he was standing. “And,” Ben said. “Do you still want to become my Queen?” Mal smiled and said, “Yes. With all my heart.” Ben smiled and kissed Mal in front of the crowd as they cheered. Mal pulled away and said, “But I’m not getting that crown until we have our wedding later this year. Like we planned to.” Ben chuckled and said, “It’s a deal.” 

“All hail King Ben and Mal!” Jay shouted. Everyone in the crowd repeated what Jay shouted over and over. Ben smiled along with Mal. He looked over at Mal and felt a song come onto his heart and sung it to her and Mal felt the same song come into her heart and she sung with him,

_(Ben)_

_Suddenly you’re here_

_Suddenly it restarts_

_Our two anxious hearts beat as one_

_Yesterday I was alone_

_Today you stand beside me_

_Something now so clear_

_Something that is here_

_Can go on_

_(Mal)_

_Suddenly the world_

_Seems a different place_

_Somehow full of grace, full of light_

_How was I to know that so much hope was held inside me?_

_What has passed is gone_

_Now we journey on through the night_

_(Ben and Mal)_

_Nevermore alone_

_Nevermore apart_

_You have warmed my heart like the sun_

_You have brought the gift of life_

_And love so long denied me_

_Suddenly I see_

_What I longed to see_

_Something suddenly_

_Can go on ___

__They leaned in and kissed each other, feeling their bond through the Force thrum with love, power, and hope. Today will mark the first day that the dyad is reunited in full. They may have found each other again before they were both reawakened to the Force, and they reformed their love for each other without it, but now that Mal has reawakened as Rey, she and Ben will grow as the dyad reborn, just as the Force knew they would._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this took over a week to get out. But as you saw with how long the chapter was, it took a lot of time to write. I wanted to make sure everything made sense and I had to go back and rewrite some parts. Now there will be one more chapter after this, must likely an epilogue detailing the time after these events leading up to Ben and Mal's wedding. 
> 
> The song that I used is called "Suddenly" from the movie version of Les Miserables, which I don't own. I changed some of the lyrics to match what I wanted, at it is a pretty song from the movie.
> 
> See you later for the last chapter!


	36. Happily Ever After

After the Palpatine event, which was what everyone called it, things went back to normal, for the most part. Ben had to meet with the council to discuss everything that happened and to undo the damage that Palpatine did to Auradon. With the help of Agathe and Fairy Godmother, all the damage from the clone army and the armada reverted back to normal. Some of the council members were a little upset that Ben lied about who he truly was, but with the help of Agathe, Ben was able to calm those people down and explain that he was still the king that they knew. 

Chad had to do some therapy because of him being possessed by Palpatine. Ben even had some one on ones with him and answered any questions Chad wanted to ask. Ben understood about having something evil in your head as Palpatine was the one whispering dark thoughts into Ben’s head for mostly his entire previous life. He explained that Palpatine just took advantage of him when he was dealing with his broken heart. Chad understood and even spoke to Audrey about it and he promised that he would work on moving on from her.

Speaking of Audrey, her family wasn’t entirely excited about Harry being her true love, especially her grandmother. But Queen Aurora was the one who supported her daughter and said that true love can work in mysterious ways. That caused her father to relax and her grandmother to back off. Harry wasn’t used to the royal treatment, but Audrey was there every step of the way to help him. And she promised him that he could take her sailing on Uma’s ship anytime he wanted. 

Winter semester at Auradon Prep started a week after the Palpatine event. The reporters kept wanting to talk to Ben and Mal while on school grounds, but Fairy Godmother shooed them away like always. But some of the students wanted to talk to Ben and Mal about their Force powers and the royal couple just wanted to be left alone. Because of that, Mal joined Ben more often for his royal duties, even though Mal had to anyway as she was going to be crowned Queen in a few months. 

Whenever they did feel like they had to hide from the world, they went into Ben’s secret room. Sure the Force spirits weren’t around anymore, which Ben secretly missed but was also secretly relieved that he didn’t have 7 spirits in his head anymore, it was just the droids. Plus Chewie sometimes as Ben knew that Chewie wanted to spend some time in his Wookiee form, even though he had gotten use to his dog form over the years. Ben and Mal would practice their saber skills and their Force skills. Sometimes, they would fight each other with their lightsabers and get so into it that they would subconsciously turn into Ben Solo and Rey without realizing it. C-3PO pointed it out after the first time it happened and suggested, “Perhaps you started to slip into your old ways and subconsciously called upon your old selves.” “Perhaps,” Ben said. “I didn’t mean to,” Rey said. “It just happened.” A few seconds later, they became King Ben and Mal again.

Ben did ask Mal if she wanted to continue using the name Mal or if she wanted to legally change it to Rey. Mal thought about it and said, “Like I have said, I am both Mal and Rey. One and the same. You were lucky that your parents named you Ben. Even though my father calls me Rey, everyone else in Auradon, thanks to my mother, calls me Mal. I don’t want to confuse them.” “I will call you both,” Ben said. “In public, I’ll call you Mal. But in private, you’re Rey to me.” “Sounds fair,” Mal said. “Even Evie, Carlos, and Jay won’t call me Rey, which I understand. This entire situation is still weird though.” Ben hugged her and said, “I know. But like you said, you are Rey of Jakku and Mal of the Isle. Just like I am King Ben of Auradon and Ben Solo. Two different sides of one person.” 

He pulled away and said, “How about a suggestion? When I first got my memories back and Force connection, I was still a 7 year old on the outside, even though inside I was an adult. I slowly started to merge the two together. And because I was a 7 year old, I had little kid tendencies. So, maybe you can start being both little by little. It will show people, even our friends, that you are still the Mal that they know, but with some new quirks. Besides, some of those quirks leaked through before your reawakening anyway.” Mal thought about it and realized that Ben was right. Her survivor instincts, her caring for others, her connection with magic, even though it was not the Force, and her warrior mentality. She realized that she had attributes from her old self in her new life. She looked up at Ben and said, “I guess you’re right when I think about it. Thanks, babe.” Ben leaned down and gave her a peck on the lips and said, “That’s my girl.” 

Wedding planning was coming along as Mal met with Evie several times to go over flowers, the cake, and her wedding dress. Mal also told Evie that she was to be her maid of honor. Evie cried and hugged Mal super tight. Evie showed her three possible wedding cakes and Mal chose a cloudberry cake with zepherian vanilla bean that had flowers and strawberries on the outside. Evie tried showing her different designs for the dress but Mal eventually decided on a ballgown dress of flowing satin, shimmering chiffon, and purple. 

The ban on magic was eventually lifted all together and many of the magical items that were in the museum were returned to their owners, the trident included. Obviously the villain items were kept there, especially those belonging to villains that still had to be imprisoned on the Isle as they proved that they showed no signs of changing. Except Maleficent, who was still a lizard, as she now was being watched by Hades, who enjoyed every minute of it, as he got to let loose on the lizard about how horrible a wife she was, and the little lizard could do nothing about it.

The second semester of senior year went by fast. Jay and Carlos were still on the Swords and Shields team with Lonnie as captain, and Harry and Gil joined the team, with some members like Chad not joining the team as they wanted to do other things during their senior year. Chad even gave his spot to Harry personally as Harry proved to be the better sword fighter and to show Harry that he had no hard feelings about Harry dating Audrey. 

The end of senior year came with a whirlwind of events. There was a scavenger hunt led by King Ben and Chad ended up being the winner as one of the tasks of the scavenger hunt was to kiss a prince and Chad kissed his hand, while no one else could find a prince, as Ben was a king thus not counting, and Chad won. Instead of being upset that Chad won, everyone congratulated him as he deserved it after what happened to him during the new year. Fairy Godmother hosted a senior’s ball and Ben and Mal led everyone in a dancing contest with Carlos and Jane being the winners. 

The graduation ceremony came and went smoothly. Mal, Ben, Evie, Doug, Carlos, Jane, Jay, Lonnie, Audrey, Chad, Uma, Harry, and Gil were among the graduating class and were all happy that high school was over. Celia, Dizzy, and the twins were amongst the audience clapping for the seniors. Ben gave the valedictorian speech with Mal at his side. The senior class celebrated well into the night, and of course, songs and dance numbers were a plenty, much to Ben’s amusement. Even Mal, now that she had her memories back, realized that this was a strange world indeed for song and dance numbers to be a normal occurrence. Despite the fact that she did them all the time before she was reawakened by the Force. 

Lonnie was going to attend university in Sherwood Forest. Jay was debating if he should follow her there as the university was offering a full scholarship for Tourney, or if he should take a gap year so he and Gil could explore the world. He and Lonnie talked about it and Jay decided to go to university in Sherwood Forest with Lonnie and he would go exploring during breaks with Gil.

Carlos was going to college in Auradon in a pre-vet program. Jane was offered to go to a school for fairies as she had fairy blood in her thanks to her mother, but she turned it down so that she could attend college with Carlos. Dude obviously went with them.

Evie debated whether or not she would attend college as her business was going extremely well and she was making enough money for her to finally upgrade for the castle of her dreams. Doug was going to attend college in Auradon and was still going to help with Evie’s business with the finances. So Evie compromised by doing a hybrid system, she would take some in person classes and some classes online so that she still had time for her business. 

Audrey decided not to go to college as she was nearing the time of her coronation as Queen of Auroria. The same went for Chad as soon he would be crowned king of Cinderellasburg. This was actually the case for a lot of the royals so many of them didn’t need to attend college. 

Uma chose not to attend college as she was now part of the royal council and the ambassador for the Isle. Plus she said that she wouldn’t fit in at college. The same was with Harry. So he either spent time with Uma helping on the council or spent time with Audrey. He was actually trying to work up the nerve and propose to Audrey as he was told about the standard of needing to ask her dad for permission but surprisingly it was Queen Aurora who sat down with Harry one day and gave her blessing for Harry to marry her daughter. Harry was planning to take Audrey out sailing and propose to her out at sea. Gil went ahead and started his travels with Jay around the world and then went out on his own when Jay needed to return to Auradon.

Ben and Mal were finishing up wedding preparations with Evie and Belle during the summer and went on a summer tour to the different kingdoms. Their birthdays fell on a weekend and instead of having a giant ball, since Ben and Mal weren’t really fans of them and because their wedding was the very next weekend, they decided to invite a few of their friends to the castle and have a birthday weekend with them. Mal gave Ben a journal where he could practice calligraphy as Ben wanted to start picking up a skill he had in his previous life. Ben gave Mal a beautiful diamond necklace and the diamond was enchanted to change color based on what mood Mal was in. Mal gave Ben a passionate kiss in response and muttered, “I love you Ben.” Ben chuckled and said, “I love you Rey.”

The day of the wedding arrived. The ceremony was held in the same church that Ben was coronated in. Ben and Mal didn’t want a big wedding party so they just had the best man, Doug, and the maid of honor, Evie, up at the altar with them. Ben was decked out in his royal suit and crown. He was excited but nervous as he wanted everything to be perfect and couldn’t wait for Mal to finally become his queen. The doors opened and Mal stood there in her purple and white wedding dress, Hades standing next to her, ready to escort her down the aisle. Ben’s eyes started to tear up as Mal and Hades walked down the aisle. They reached Ben and Hades gave Mal to him, giving him a “I’m watching you” look before turning away and sitting next to Ben’s parents. Fairy Godmother officiated the wedding and placed the Queen’s crown on Mal’s head as the wedding and coronation were happening at the same time. Ben and Mal could feel each other’s emotions through the Force as both felt so happy to finally have this moment happen. Fairy Godmother barely got the final words out before Ben pulled Mal into a passionate kiss in front of the audience, who clapped wildly. 

The reception took place in the rose garden at Ben’s castle. Ben and Mal arrived later than everyone else and were welcomed with shouts of, “All hail King Ben and Queen Mal!”. Ben led Mal onto the dance floor to led her through their first dance as a married couple. Music played in the background as Ben and Mal danced their waltz. Hades stood off at the side next to Adam and Belle. Belle cried a little and said, “Adam, our boy is all grown up. And he found his true love. It’s so beautiful.” “I agree,” Adam said. “Me too,” Hades added. “I am just happy that my Rey of sunshine is happy.” 

“I couldn’t agree with you more.” The three adults turned and saw Agathe standing next to them. “Don’t mind me,” Agathe said. “I am just popping in for a little bit. Just wanted to see that my job is complete with Ben and Rey. It seems that the wish is fulfilled. And the couple can finally have their second chance at life.” She then chuckled and said, “It seems they are so into each other that they don’t notice the obvious.” “What obvious?” Adam asked. Agathe pointed to the couple and Adam, Belle, and Hades, along with all the other guests that King Ben and Queen Mal were no longer dancing around, but Ben Solo and Rey. Ben was dressed in an Alderran royal suit and Rey was dressed in a dress someone would have worn in Naboo. They continued their dance, oblivious to everyone around them. 

Rey finally noticed and whispered, “I think we subconsciously shifted forms. As now I am seeing your black hair from before.” Ben chuckled and whispered, “I wondered why your hair wasn’t purple anymore. I’m just so happy that I don’t care. You are beautiful, both sides of you.” Rey giggled and said, “You are handsome. Both sides of you.” Ben then leaned more in and whispered, “I could think of a few things we could do tonight in both forms.” Rey blushed at that, but whispered back, “I can too. And I can’t wait.” 

They shifted back into King Ben and Queen Mal and continued to dance as Ben whispered, “So, has your wish been fulfilled? Did we finally get our happily ever after?” Mal nodded and said, “We did. But’s not just our happily every after. It’s also our happy beginning.” Ben smiled as he and Mal danced around the dance floor and they both started to sing, the other guests joining in later on,

_(Mal)_

_Tomorrow is uncertain_

_Who knows what it will bring?_

_(Ben)_

_But one thing is for sure, love_

_With you I have everything_

_(Ben and Mal)_

_A happily ever after_

_Is the way these stories go_

_(Mal)_

_Used to think that’s what I wanted_

_But now I finally know_

_There’s no storm we can’t outrun_

_(Ben)_

_We will always find the sun_

_(Ben and Mal)_

_Leave the past and all its scars_

_A happy beginning now is ours_

_We celebrate together_

_A longtime wish come true_

_What makes it even better_

_Today our story starts anew_

_Let villains cast their curses_

_We can overcome them all_

_If we stand strong together_

_There’s no way we can fall_

_(Everyone)_

_There’s no storm we can’t outrun_

_We will always find the sun_

_Leave the past and all its scars_

_A happy beginning now is ours_

_When we’re facing endless night_

_Take my hand and join the fight_

_Past the clouds, we’ll find the stars_

_A happy beginning now is ours_

_There’s no storms we can’t outrun_

_We will always find the sun_

_Leave the past and all its scars_

_A happy beginning now is ours_

_When we’re facing endless night_

_Take my hand and join the fight_

_A happy beginning now is ours_

_A happy beginning now is ours ___

__Ben and Mal kissed passionately as the guests clapped and cheered for the happy couple. The dyad felt the Force beaming around them and felt the Force spirits whisper their congrats. Ben pulled away and leaned his forehead against Mal’s and whispered, “To a happy beginning.” Mal whispered back, “To a happily ever after.”_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is finally done. Sorry that this chapter took a while as I took some days off of writing. But I have finished it. Thanks to everyone who gave kudos, comments, and bookmarked the story.
> 
> The song used is "Happy Beginning" from Once Upon a Time, which I don't own.
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed my story. I am working through ideas for my next one so stay tuned. Bye!


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